Originally Posted by Jinker
I'm not sure if it's apocryphal or anything, but I've read that in the old days the categorization was based on the gear you could climb the hill in while driving an old Citroen 2CV. 4th gear: cat 4. 2nd gear: cat 2. Unclimbable: Hors Categorie.
That would be very cute if it were true. Is it? The 2CV has been around a long time, but the tour has been around longer.