The Tour de France 2018 in Espelette, close to your campsite in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques!

On Saturday July 28, the 105th edition of the Tour de France makes a grand return to the Basque Country. The last time was in 2006! And as good news never comes alone, Espelette will be the finishing town for this penultimate stage of the Grande Boucle. An event not to be missed during your camping holiday in Espelette! Discovery.

Now’s your chance to experience the thrill of the Tour de France in the Basque Country!

If you stay at our campsite in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques this summer, you’ll have a front-row seat to cheer the Tour de France riders to the finish line! And they’ll need it, because this 31 km individual time trial between Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle and Espelette promises to be very demanding and spicy to say the least!

The route of this final time trial in the heart of the Basque Country

For this 20th stage of the Tour, cyclists will have to tackle the 31 km of very hilly and uneven terrain between the Saint-Pée pediment and the village of Espelette! In between, the riders will take the D3 departmental road up to Bayonne, through the forest to the villages of Arcangues and Arbonne. The race continues towards Ustaritz before descending onto the Route des Cimes and crossing the village of Souraïde. After that, the cyclists will have to tackle the dreaded Pinodieta pass before crossing the finish line in Espelette, just a stone’s throw from our 4-star campsite in the heart of the Basque Country!

Why is the Basque stage so dreaded by Tour de France riders?

Just like the Basque countryside, the route of this timed event – 31 kilometers and 610 metres of positive gradient – doesn’t offer a single metre of flatness! Hard work after the mountain stages in the Pyrenees… After the côte de Saint-Pée and the mur du Souraïde, the puncheurs-grimpeurs will have to tackle the côte de Pinodieta in the final stretch of the stage: 2 km, including 1.5 km with an average gradient of 6.8% and a 21% passage! As Grande Boucle director Christian Prudhomme predicted, this penultimate stage before the finish on the Champs-Élysées will be more than decisive!

The campsite’s favourites for combining sport, nature and tourism in the Basque Country :

Because it’s not all about cycling this summer between Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle and Espelette!

• Visit the Écomusée de la pelote et du Xistera Pilotari in Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle.
• Swimming, picnicking or canoeing on the Lac de Saint Pée.
• Discover the Atelier du Piment in Espelette (discovery tour and tasting).
• Hike the footpaths to the Mondarrain summit (750 m), the Mondarrain peat bogs or Itxassou.
• And many other things to see and do in the Basque Country!