All it took was a bridge to rediscover the past. Since 1989, the Tour de France has not arrived in the Pyrenean resort of Superbagnères (1804 meters above sea level) above Bagnères-de-Luchon (Haute-Garonne). Not for a question of desire but of bridges too fragile to support the passage of the organization’s gigantic trucks and the vehicles of the advertising caravan. So, for 35 years, the Grande Boucle has been brightening up elsewhere.
But since local elected officials agreed to build a larger bridge over the Pique, the river crossing Bagnères-de-Luchon, everything has changed. “On learning of this project, let’s say that it’s been two years since I wrote in my notebooks to quickly return to Superbagnères,” smiles Christian Prudhomme. It will therefore be July 19 for the 14th stage which will start from Pau.