Greatest Mountains of the Tour De France

Great climbers usually win the Tour de France. Dozens of famous and infamous peaks have been used during stages and as finishing summits.

Although some climbs remain nearly the same every time they're contested, Tour organizers also look for mountain innovation, like the introduction of the climb to L'Alpe d'Huez as an individual time trial during the 2004 Tour.

Just like the diverse styles of race riders, Tour mountains have their own personalities.

Here are 10 of the most famous, infamous and wondrous mountains, (listed alphabetically) of the Tour de France.

Aspin

One of several Pyrenees peaks added to the Tour in 1910, Aspin (as-pan) been visited more than 65 times. The peak is 4,888 feet and it's reached after a 7 3/4-mile climb at an average 6.3 percent grade. The mountains road are narrow, rough and hazardous.

French race winner Octave Lapize was the first rider over the summit in its 1910 debut. Since then, many legendary Tour performers and its current riders have crested Aspin first en route to stage wins, overall Tour wins, and infamous days in the Pyrenees. American Bobby Julich, third overall in the 1998 Tour among riders who've reached the top of Aspin first, en route to 18th in the General Classification (the overall finish) in the 2001 Tour. Three years later, Julich was Olympic time trial bronze medalist in Athens, Greece.

Aubisque

The Aubisque (oh-beesk), a legendary Tour peak added in 1910, has been conquered by great climbers, but it has also humbled countless cyclists.

The Aubisque culminates at 5,605 feet and riders as varied as Firmin Lambot of France (1920), Gino Bartali (1938) and Fausto Coppi of Italy (1949 and 1952), Charly Gaul of Luxembourg (1955), Eddy Merckx of Belgium (1969), Miguel Indurain of Spain (1989), and Laurent Jalabert of France (2002) all mastered the mountain.

Now part of the Tour more than 60 times, the Aubisque progresses for 10 1/4 miles with an average grade of 7.1 percent.

Courchevel

Courcheval, a newcomer to the Tour.

Credit: Semnoz, WikiCommons

Copyright: Semnoz, WikiCommons