← All eventsMarmotte Granfondo Pyrénées
~177km Pyrenean cyclosportif with ~5,700m climbing — more vertical than the Alpine Marmotte. Double ascent of the Col du Tourmalet (2,115m) plus Hourquette d'Ancizan and Col d'Aspin, summit finish on Hautacam. Argelès-Gazost start. Advertised date 23 Aug 2026 but the 2026 edition status has been flagged uncertain — confirm before committing.
Around 5,700m of climbing over 177km, more vertical than the Alpine Marmotte it borrows its name from. Built around a double ascent of the Col du Tourmalet, the highest paved pass in the French Pyrenees at 2,115m.
Between the two Tourmalet ascents come the Hourquette d'Ancizan and the Col d'Aspin. Then a summit finish up Hautacam, steep and irregular, with 160km already in the legs.
This is a 7 to 13 hour day and it does not forgive. Climb the first Tourmalet too hard and you have nothing left for the second, and Hautacam punishes anyone who arrives empty.
Is Marmotte Granfondo Pyrénées for you?
- Riders with real climbing volume in the legs who have done a big multi-col sportive before. The double Tourmalet humbles anyone stepping up cold.
- Patient pacers. The day rewards riders who ration effort on the first Tourmalet and still have power for the second ascent and Hautacam.
- Strong watts-per-kilo climbers. At 5,700m of climbing, W/kg is the decisive lever, not flat-road speed.
- Riders chasing a bucket-list Pyrenean epic, ready to match it with the training, fuelling and heat prep it demands.
Training plan for Marmotte Granfondo Pyrénées
A training plan for Marmotte Granfondo Pyrénées isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- Around 5,700m of climbing across 177km, more vertical than the Alpine Marmotte
- The Col du Tourmalet climbed twice, a 17 to 19km sustained effort each time
- A steep, irregular summit finish up Hautacam after 160km on tired legs
- Valley heat that risks dehydration, then cold and wind up on the high cols
- Double-climb sessions: the same long hill twice, second ascent at race pace, to rehearse the double Tourmalet
- 60 to 90min sustained climbs at 85 to 92% FTP, Tourmalet length
- Big climbing days of 6 to 8hr with 3,500 to 4,500m of vertical
- Heat blocks in the final weeks: warm turbo sessions and post-ride sauna
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
