Alpe d'Huez

From Bourg-d'Oisans: about 13.8 km at roughly 8%, 21 numbered hairpins, best ridden May to mid-November The climb everyone wants on their record. Fausto Coppi won the Tour's first summit finish here in 1952, and each hairpin now carries the names of stage winners, so you count your way down from 21 to 1. Be warned that the opening kilometers, with ramps around 12%, are the hardest of the lot; ride them gently and the gradient eases after the village of Huez, about 6 km from the top. Marco Pantani's 37 minutes 35 seconds from 1997 gives you something to laugh at in the café afterwards.