Triathlon de l'Alpe d'Huez, live.

The legend of the 21 bends

The Triathlon de l'Alpe d'Huez is a week of racing in the Oisans, France, from 25 to 29 July 2027, where the L, the M and the duathlon all climb the 21 bends of the Alpe d'Huez.

The 2027 edition is the 21st. The organisers describe it as an independent event built on personal effort, respect, solidarity and humility, with a programme of four races. The swims take place in the Lac du Verney, a reservoir of the Grand'Maison hydroelectric plant where swimming is banned for the rest of the year, and the water has averaged 17 degrees over the last five editions.

The L on Wednesday 28 July is the main race. After 2.2 km in the lake from a 09:30 rolling start, riders cover 118 km with about 3,200 m of climbing over the Alpe du Grand Serre, the Col du Malissol and the Col d'Ornon before the 13.9 km climb of the Alpe d'Huez at 8 percent. The run is three laps of 6.4 km at 1,800 m towards the Col de Sarenne, on track and asphalt.

The M on Thursday 29 July is 1.5 km of swimming, 28 km on the bike with about 1,415 m of climbing, most of it the 21 bends, and one lap of 6.4 km at the top. The duathlon on Monday 26 July draws more than 1,000 participants: 6.5 km of running from the football stadium in Bourg d'Oisans at 15:00, then 15 km on the bike up the Alpe and a final 5.5 km run.

Wetsuits are mandatory in the lake. The crowd is out on the steepest bends of the climb, and a free shuttle takes L athletes and their companions to the start at the lake. Bibs cannot be collected at the start on race day.

Livebib lets you follow an athlete who decides to share their own live position from the phone they carry on course. The dot on the map is that person's own sharing, not the organiser's timing, and official results are published by the organiser.