THE ROUTE

• 19 times a stage town
• Population: 40,000
• Prefecture of Hautes-Alpes (05)

Gap has been the scene of magnificent wins by riders like Géminiani, Nencini, Bernard, Zabel and Vinokourov. The Prefecture of Hautes-Alpes was also the start of legendary Tour stages that finished in Briançon, successively won by Bobet, Coppi and Bahamontes. Since then, starts from Gap have tended to finish in Alpe-d’Huez, as in 1991 (victory of Gianni Bugno) and in 2006 (Frank Schleck). The most dramatic image associated with a stage in Gap nevertheless remains that of Lance Armstrong cutting across a field in 2003, following Joseba Beloki’s fall.

Gap, a city with a population of 40,000 and the prefecture of the Hautes-Alpes area, marks the limit between the northern and southern Alps. It is located on the famous Napoleonic route linking Golfe-Juan to Grenoble.
With legendary amounts of sunshine, wide open natural spaces, Gap is both home to lavender and edelweiss!
Gap is a place for sport in all seasons. Indeed, half of its inhabitants belong to a club. Ten minutes from the city centre, Gap Bayard is a vast plateau ideal for cross-country skiing in winter, whilst in the summer, it plays host to a superb golf course.
On the 50 km of the Balcons du Gapençais tracks, families can often be found mountain biking.
Gap-Charance is a park open all year round with nature study trails and a garden boasting 600 varieties of ancient roses.
Gap-Tallard is the leading French spot for aerial sports: parachuting, paragliding, hang-gliding, hot air ballooning, gliding, etc.
Gap-Céüze is a rock climber’s paradise with its 5 km of cliffs.
In Gap, the life of the city is a palette of colourful small squares and pedestrian streets, statues, fountains and coloured façades. Cycling will again have pride of place on Sunday 22nd August, when the Alpigap event takes place.