19.1
PDI
8.9 mi
DISTANCE
3,352 ft
GAINED
5.6 %
AVG. GRADE
FULL CLIMB STATS
Page Contributor(s): Simon DeForni, France
INTRO
PLAN YOUR ROUTE
We've partnered with Sherpa-Map.com to bring you the best route planning tool. With a PRO Membership you can use this climb as a reference when creating your route. The 5.6% average is the least useful number on this page. Artzamendi via Col de Légarré gains 1022 m (3,352 ft) and gives back 223 m (732 ft) on the way, and the climbing comes in brutal blocks.
Km 2 is the Col de Légarré wall at about 13.7%, after a gentle first kilometer. The road then rolls over the top for about 3 km (1.9 mi) at 0-4% before dropping for about a kilometer at an average of 9% to the Pas de Roland road. From km 8 the main climb begins, alternating ramps of about 8% with easier 4-5% stretches up the Bérandotz valley.
The finale is the hardest part of the ride. Km 12 averages about 16%, home to the steepest 500 m (16.2%) and steepest kilometer (16.1%), with the steepest pitches reaching about 18.6% over 91 m (100 yd). After a short easing to about 8%, km 14 kicks back up to around 13.7%. The steepest 2 km average 13.6% and the steepest 5 km 10.3%.
Roadway: Paved the whole way, but this is a narrow mountain lane with no center line and some very steep, tight sections. The surface has been in good condition in recent rider reports, though it gets slippery after rain, and both the mid-route drop off Légarré and the descent from Artzamendi need real care - check your brakes before heading down.
Traffic: Light, but not empty. The lane serves farms and the installations on Artzamendi, so expect the occasional van or utility vehicle, and on a road this narrow that can mean stopping on a ramp to let it by. Horses and other livestock graze on and beside the road, so ride carefully around them.
Parking: The climb starts on the Espelette-Itxassou road just outside Espelette, a small and very popular village with parking around the center that fills up on summer days and on the Fête du Piment weekend, so arrive early. Watch for the turn toward Mondarrain / Artzamendi on your right - in this direction it's easy to miss, since the sign mainly faces the other way.
Gear: Bring your lowest gears - a 34x32 or 34x34 is what riders who've done it recommend, and even then the 16% sections will hurt. Good brakes matter as much as gearing, for the drop off Légarré and the long, steep descent back down.
Provisions: Stock up in Espelette or Itxassou; there are no shops or cafes on the route. Pack a rain or wind layer even in summer, since the top can be foggy and much cooler than the valley.
Before heading out on any cycling adventure check out our Things to Bring on a Cycling Trip and use our interactive check list to ensure you don't forget anything.
Espelette, at the start, is the home of the piment d'Espelette, the AOP red pepper grown by more than 200 producers in Espelette and about ten neighboring villages, Itxassou among them. From late summer the white Basque houses are hung with strings of drying red peppers, and on the last weekend of October (24-25 October in 2026) the village holds its Fête du Piment, with a mass to bless the year's harvest. The Château des Barons d'Ezpeleta, built around the year 1000, now houses the town hall and exhibitions.
Up on the mountain, pink sandstone was quarried on Artzamendi from 1771 to make millstones, hauled down by oxen and shipped from Cambo-les-Bains to mills in Bayonne and Dax; about 150 of them are recorded, mostly on Artzamendi and in Itxassou. Below the climb, the Pas de Roland beside the Nive is worth a detour on foot: legend says Charlemagne's knight Roland struck the rock in 778 to open a passage south.
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