The Col de Pailhères (elevation 2,001 m (6,565 ft)) is a mountain pass in the Ariège department of the French Pyrenees, located on the secondary road D25 between Mijanès (south-east) and Ax-les-Thermes (west).

Port de Pailhères (elevation 1,963 m (6,440 ft)) is located nearby, 400 m southwest. It is the lowest point between the valleys but from there the road D25 to Mijanès direction runs via the Col de Pailhères.

Details of climb

Starting from Mijanes, the Col de Pailhères is 10.6 km (6.6 mi) long. Over this distance, the climb is 871 m (2,858 ft) (an average gradient of 8.2%) with a maximum gradient of 10.2%.

Starting from Ax-les-Thermes, the Col de Pailhères is 18.6 km (11.6 mi) long. Over this distance, the climb is 1,281 m (4,203 ft), (an average gradient of 6.9%) with a maximum gradient of 10.4% near the summit.

Tour de France

The climb has been used in five stages of the Tour de France cycle race with its first appearance coming in 2003. In 2013, it was used on the eighth stage, when the riders also competed for the Souvenir Henri Desgrange.

Appearances in Tour de France

Year	Stage	Category	Start	Finish	Leader at the summit
2013	8	HC	Castres	Ax-3 Domaines	Nairo Quintana (COL)
2010	14	HC	Revel	Ax-3 Domaines	Christophe Riblon (FRA)
2007	14	HC	Mazamet	Plateau-de-Beille	Rubén Pérez (ESP)
2005	14	HC	Agde	Ax-3 Domaines	Georg Totschnig (AUT)
2003	13	1	Toulouse	Ax-3 Domaines	Carlos Sastre (ESP)