Le Tour de France dans les Pyrénées, Sculpture in Ger, France
Le Tour de France dans les Pyrénées is a large metal sculpture in Ger, a small town along the A64 highway between Tarbes and Pau in France. It stands roughly 18 meters (about 59 feet) high and spans around 30 meters (about 98 feet) wide, showing eight cyclists climbing a mountain pass.
The sculpture was created by Jean-Bernard Métais in 1995 and 1996 as part of a French program that brings art to highway rest areas. It was placed here to mark the role of the Pyrenees in the Tour de France, a race that first crossed these mountains in 1910.
The sculpture stands at a highway rest area and is designed so travelers can stop and look at it without going out of their way. It shows a rider in the yellow jersey at the front, followed by seven others, echoing the rhythm of an actual mountain stage.
The work is located at the Aires des Pyrénées rest stop on the A64 highway and can be clearly seen from the road. Visitors who want a closer look can pull off at the rest area and take a short walk to stand near it.
The group includes a separate steel figure, 3 meters (about 10 feet) tall, depicting Octave Lapize, the first rider to crest the Col du Tourmalet as a winner in 1910. That figure normally stands in the nearby village of Gerde but is transported to the summit of the pass each year during the Tour.
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