The Labyrinth | Port de Bales descent (France) | Full Gas Bike Touring in The Pyrenees

Halfway through our Tour to The Tour trip we took a detour so that we could climb and descend the Port de Bales pass. Not used too often in the Tour de France - this was still a dirt track in 2006 when the tour was looking for new climbs and decided lay down some tarmac on this one for the 2007 edition. This climb definitely created some drama when Contador attacked Andy Schleck when he had a mechanical and that him his yellow jersey and 39 seconds on the day. Ultimately Contador won the overall tour victory by 39 seoncds...

For me this road looked too tempting to miss after spying it on the maps. So many twists and turns, and being a bit off the main path traveled meant it would be a quiet one. We climbed up and over in the direction the tour never goes because the narrow descent is deemed to dangerous by organisers. Bot sides seemed fairly dangerous to race down but the side we descened is longer and has many more corners. Luckily there was no need to race down and I took all the corners really wide to make sure there would be no issues with oncoming traffic. A beautiful day on the bike and one I'll remember for a long time. The detour was well worth it!

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[colincycling]

"This is not a full bomb descent, this is a stay alive and don't fall of the mountain descent."
...Takes the KOM 😂
You guys are to good, and we can clearly see that youre not hammering it down in some areas.
What a descent, beautiful filming and editing. Thanks for sharing as usual ❤

[high]

Cycling indoors all winter, waiting for THIS type of weather...

[mynab]

Wow what a descent. The views at the top are incredible. Thanks!

[gregnichols]

thanks for the memories I did that a few years ago, and ate at the cafe across the street from where you stopped. I also bought some local goat cheese from a lady in the exact spot you stopped.

[gotoalexis]

I live in Loures Barousse. This is my training route. Congratulations on your descent, you are really very, very fast....à bloc

[EdMontego]

What Beautiful little Mountain Pass with not much Traffic. I like it!

[Unwavering]

Did you just pass a home-sister that was dive-bombing the decent too? It's always good to see another person reaming it at the top of her abilities. You rock Safa, but your not the only one that seeks thrills and chills. To all the ones who slowly their limits to the enth degree.

[reece]

The driver of the Citroen seemed impressed lol 😂

[orionpatrial]

God bless you guys....saludos desde Brazil🤘🤘

[brianwillaman]

That was awesome to watch.
How did you ad that very cool satellite map with your descent?

[kadenmaat]

i like the commentary from both of you!

[jimduyck]

That scenery looks like a video game. 😳

[mashmallowsnowy]

This viewpoint is too perfect !😮Please tell me the mounting angle!!!!🙏🏻

[gravelschlabbe]

How do you track all the data to display on the left?

[Cycleplayer]

so many droppings lol great video as always 👍🏾

[Swift]

Hi. I love all of the videos and this channel inspired me to take my bike on a trip to Europe. I'm actually going at the beginning of March on a short trial trip. I'm taking the Eurostar train from London to Brussels. What will the weather be like and what direction should I head in?
Also, why Brussels? Because it's the only route the Eurostar train allows a bike without needing to dismantle it and put it in a box.
Any suggestions from anyone are most welcome!

[rogereheadbyrne]

Fantastic Video as always SAFA!! 🚴‍♂️💭🤟😁🤟

[BiggieLFC]

You have to pronounce the final "s" in "Balès" :) Beautiful descent, I only climbed this side and went down the other one, but both have spectacular views.

[jonathandurand-marandi]

hello safa this was a great video like all the time, also i was wondering wath is your age?

[lucasbrunelle]

Yes these places exist people, travel, ride, ride, ride ∞