Super Besse
Coordinates: 45°30′38.52″N 2°51′24.30″E / 45.5107000°N 2.8567500°E
Super Besse is a winter sports resort in the Massif Central in France.
Geography
The winter sports resort of Super Besse is located in the commune of Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise in the Parc naturel régional des volcans d'Auvergne in the department of Puy-de-Dôme, in Auvergne. Situated approximately 50 km from Clermont-Ferrand, it is located at an altitude of 1350 m on the slopes of Puy de Sancy, Puy de la Perdrix and Puy Ferrand.
Facilities
The on piste skiing represents 43 km distributed on 27 tracks (5 green, 9 blue, 9 red and 4 black) between 1300 m and 1840 m altitude, on the south-eastern slope of Puy de Sancy, and is served by 21 ski lifts ensuring a maximum flow of 20,000 skiers per hour. There are also 125 km of cross-country skiing.
The resort has:
- 1 funitel with 20 places (new in 2008)
- 4 chair-lifts
- 16 ski-lifts.
The skiable field extends to "Grand Sancy" thanks to the connection to Mont-Dore, located on the northern slope of Puy de Sancy. However this connection is seldom open because of the difficult winter climate (strong winds, frozen snow, fog etc.).
Tour de France
Super-Besse hosted the first mountain finish of the 2008 Tour de France. The finish was at an altitude of 1289 m, whereas in previous years the finish was at 1350 m.
Tour de France stage finishes
| Year | Stage | Start of stage | Distance (km) | Category of climb | Stage winner | Yellow jersey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 8 | Aigurande | 189 | 3 | Rui Costa | Thor Hushovd |
| 2008 | 6 | Aigurande | 195.5 | 2 | Alejandro Valverde | Kim Kirchen |
| 1996 | 13 | Le Puy-en-Velay | 177 | 3 | Rolf Sørensen | Bjarne Riis |
| 1978 | 13 | Figeac | 221.5 | 3 | Paul Wellens | Joseph Bruyère |
Alejandro Valverde is listed as the winner for the 2008 stage as original stage winner Riccardo Riccò was removed from the classification after testing positive for the banned performance-enhancer CERA.
Details of climb
Starting from Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise (1040 m.), the climb to Super Besse (1325 m.) is 7.2 km long. Over this distance, the climb is 285 m. (an average of 3.95%). The maximum gradient is 8.4%.
From the valley at Lomprat the total climb is 11 km at 4.7%.