10 Hardest Climbs In Professional Cycling
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- čas přidán 5. 06. 2024
- One of our favourite parts of bike racing is watching the pros battle it out up really brutal climbs. So in this video, we thought we’d have a look at 10 of the hardest climbs ridden in professional bike races. Are there any we've missed? 👇
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Zoncolan
If you ask most cyclists what the hardest climb in professional cycling is, I’d be pretty confident that the majority would name Monte Zoncolan, and it’s pretty tough to argue otherwise really. Stats wise it’s pretty outrageous, 10.5km with an 11.5% average, which is hard enough as it is, but the final 8km average around 15%!! The tougher side of the Zoncolan from Ovara has featured in the Giro d’Italia 5 times, and the Giro Rosa once, most recently won by Chris Froome and Annemiek Van Vleuten.
Angliru
In terms of European climbs of pro cycling, this is probably the only climb that can challenge the Zoncolan’s claim to be the most brutal climb in pro cycling. The Angliru averages 9.8% for 12.5km, with a maximum gradient of a properly eye-watering 23.5%. We all got the chance to ride the Angliru last year so I can tell you first hand that this climb is outrageously hard. I somehow don’t think we got anywhere close to the KOM holder Roberto Heras’ time up there though, he completed the climb in just 41min 55 secs.
Ventoux
The Giant of Provence has to be one of the most iconic climbs in cycling, but it isn’t here because of the iconic moments that have happened on its slopes, it’s made out the list because it’s just really hard! The climb, from the more commonly ridden Bedoin side, can really be split into three sections. The first 5.5km averages a pretty steady 4.4%, just to warm you up. Then the next 9.5km will really break your legs, averaging over 9%. The final 6km only averages a bit above 7%, but at this point, you’re exposed to the brutal heat and the savage winds that can batter Mont Ventoux!
Koppenberg
If it was a normal, tarmacked road the Koppenberg would be a pretty hard climb. It’s 600m long, averages 11.6% and maxes out at 22%. But the Koppenberg isn’t a normal road. Instead, the road surface is some of the toughest, most slippery cobbles that are raced in the Tour of Flanders. Just making it to the top of the Koppenberg is an achievement in itself, and every year in the Tour of Flanders a number of pros end up walking up most of the climb!
What other climbs do you think should have made the list? Let us know in the comments. 👇
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Leave us a comment below! - Sport
What other climbs do you think should have made the list? 👇
So, based on the numbers, why did you put the mortirolo higher than zoncolan and angliru?
Stelvio!!!
There are no tough climbs, just inappropriate gearing.......
One of the most difficult i have ridden is in Serbia,Debelo brdo. 25kms, max around 12%. They say sometimes cars manage to get up the hill without overheating. That is still a legend :)
you have forgotten the bola del mundo, was rinden in vuelta a España 2010/ 2012.
Top 5 rarest thing on GCN today
1. John Beaven
2 .Tom Last
3. Rear hub sound check
4. Presenters riding with pro's
5. Dan talking about his pro career (I almoust forgot what was name of his team).
Dan's team when he was racing professionally is the Cervelo Test Team.
@@bhumiriady what team sorry?
@@rooadamson Cervelo Test Team.
Sorry didn’t hear, say that again ? The what ?
Where's the Colle delle Finestre, it's 18 km to around 10%, with the last half gravel. It's the climb where Froome started his 80 km solo in the 2018 giro
That would certainly be a contender!
"hello, I would like to work for GCN." "What are your qualifications ?" "I have won the Taiwan KOM." "You're hired."
I’m confused. How is the Alto de los Machucos a 7.2km climb if the last kilometre is downhill? I get that there can be short descents in the middle of a climb but if the descent is at the end, the isn’t it actually a 6.2km climb?
I think you forgot the 200m 3,6% climb just outside my house.
Exactly what about getting up my driveway, 10m 8,4%
😂
I love images of pros in the hurt box on brutal climbs. Thank you GCN!
Hey
The Rettenbachferner climb has been in the Tour of Austria a few times. From Solden it's 14.7km at just under 10%, which is hard enough on its own, but the climb starts at an altitude of 1300m and finishes at nearly 2,800m. In other words, it's like a Mortirolo at an altitude of the Stelvio.
Nice to see Oscar and Emma on their Taiwan KOM wins! 4:25
Wow!! Taiwan KOM challenge is on the list of hardest climbs. I hope more and more world tour cyclists can join this famous race in Taiwan
Not to mention it's truly beautiful. I'll training here in Colombia and one of these days I'll go. :)
You forgot the Höttinger Höll of the last year's World Championships
I've done Monte Zoncolan in 2018 and hopefully in next weeks again but would be awesome to do all of them as complete amateur. Love your videos !
What about Passo dello Stelvio? Might just be the hardest climb in Europe...
Lagos de Covadonga in Asturias is another good candidate. 12 km that averages 8%, but that is including 2 minor downhill sections, so the gradient is closer to 9-10% of the rest of the climb.
The Muro is brutal. Completed the Lombardia Gran Fondo in October. Insane.
I'm not sure I could walk a 23% climb!
Definitely not with cleats
ratswordoow tbf there’s a lot of achievement in knowing you got up purely on the bike rather than walking.
Love your content guys
Mont Due Chat is pretty savage and how about Colle Delle Finestre it killed most the peloton in the Giro
Alto de Letras completed, i have 9 more to complete!
Greetings from Bogota, Colombia!
Punta veleno (featured in the 2012 Tour of the Alps/Giro del Trentino, Pozzovivo won the stage)
Not sure if it’s been mentioned but the Lagos de Covadonga climb is one to be reckoned with even with today’s compact gearing. This climb was used in the early 80s as well, back when the 42 x 25 was used.
You won’t see the peloton go up Mt Washington in NH, USA. However, some pros have climbed it. That beast is insane and can hang with the best!
12 km at a relentless 11.9% average, max is over 20%. And like Ventoux, factor in the weather, which includes the worlds highest ever wind speed.
Nice video as usual. I guess I'm a little late but Punta veleno on the Garda lake east side is even harder than Zocolan but with a much nicer sight on the lake! Check it out if can!
Kitzbüheler Horn?
Two words - Mauna Kea.
I loved the Chris Opie video, especially the van tour. Perhaps we have a new channel coming; GCV: Global Cycling Vans.
Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA. The hardest part start above in at above 10,000 ft. (3,047 m.). It tops out at 14,101 ft. (4,298 m.) and the max gradient is 15.7%. It's used as the USA's National Hill Climb Championships.
Sam Hart, I rode PP twice last fall since I live in COS. It’s no fun on a windy day, which it was the second time! My Dad’s ebike ran out of batteries a mile from the top; total bummer.
Signal Hill, and the Brow, in St John's Newfoundland and pretty much any road in town. I was born on a hill. Nothin' but hills back home.
What about the Valley of the Tears in Gran Canaria. Absolutely brutal. I think Si went down it in one of last years videos. Maybe go up it this year....
Hardest one I've tried myself is Mont Chery in Les Gets, it was used as the prologue for the Dauphine in 2016. Features 600m at 18%, which felt like the very limit of what I could handle.
It's crazy huh!
Stage 17 of the 2018 Vuelta finishing at Balcó de Bizkaia up the steep slope in dense fog was pretty epic. All the riders seemed to be riding in slow motion.
I love how half the pictures are Contador and Nibali
Awesome video
There's a few left on the list. El alto de bizkaia, la bola del mundo and cuitu negru in spain. In Costa Rica there one huge monster call "El Cerro de la Muerte" Goes up to 3360 up to sea level.
Wait for this years UAE tour. Jebel Jais is a beast
my favourite is a series of hills in the quantocks Somerset, on a 40km ride you can get 1100m of climb including the crowcombe hill topping out at 29% max love to get around in under 2 hours although ~I am sure Emma would bang it out in about 35mins !
There is an old Tour de France rule: The riders make the race hard. Many Tour de France climbs are harder than the ones shown here simply because the peloton is stronger and more competitive compared to the Giro and Vuelta.
Time to make an other video about this subject!
North Wilton Road in CT!
Mirador del Ézaro, in Galicia. It was a final of Vuelta a España. it is 1,82 km only. But has an avg 14,5% and max 30%!!
Not sure its a pro climb but Hardknott Pass is pretty savage!
I think it's about time that GCN had a presenter challenge up Hardknott Pass
Monte Crostis, the epic stage in the Giro that never happened. Shame, as the small village at the bottom of the climb named their square after the Giro. I did it after doing the hard side of the Zoncolan (Ovaro) going up the intended Giro side (from Comeglians and Miele). The hardest day of climbing I’ve ever done
Awesome to see letras here.
As a beginner, a local climb called east ridge climb is brutal. 2.3km with an average gradient of 10%. And the last 900-800m averages 15% with max gradient of 24%
I would add Inthanon, Thailand's highest mountain. 40kms long, and like Wuling, the last 7k are simply brutal
Sveti jure in croatia starting from podgora. 23km from a little bit above 0m up to 1700m above sea level
Juvasshytta is a good candidate. Not in any pro-tour yet, but it should be. 13.16 km
average at 9.9% and a net climb of 1,300 m.
I would add the 7.6 mile Mt. Washington auto road hill climb in New Hampshire,
it's only open to cyclists 2 times a year, they have a practice ride in July and the race in August,
they only allow you to ride it up, you will need to have a driver take you down in a car.
We have the línea climb (22km), picacho climb (50km) among others in Colombia. You missed alpe d' huez, Galiber, Gavia.
Transalpina and transfagarasan are nice climbs
Casa de maquinas in México. hardest part is 16.36 km, at 10% MAX of 21%, from 940 m to 2450m. Although the climb is 21.6 km at 7 % in total.
Any idea which chainring / sprocket the riders use to get up the steepest sections?
Port de larau between Basque and Bearn country in south west France is another hard climb you had to consider ..
Colle Dell'Agnello from Casteldelfino : altitude : 2744m, 20km at 7.3% but the last 10kms around 10%.
Wooohoooo I’ve never been first to watch a GCN video.....another one of the bucket list
Hahah!
Little known but a brutal climb near Hamburg, IN. Hilltop Rd is only 1.2k but 100M-400M is at 26% 400-600M at 27%. The remaining portion is limited to 13% and it seems to be a break. My iPhone literally slipped down the hill when I was measuring the 27% with a slope scale app. More than corn in Indiana.
San Pellegrino in Alpe north of Lucca. 13km with an average gradient of 9%(including a downhill section) makes it the hardest climb in Tuscany. Especially the last 2.5 km are brutal, with an average gradient at around 15%. For some reason it's rarely used in the Giro - maybe it's too hard ;-)
How about the Muro De Aia, the climb which Tom Last enjoy?
Col de la loze, alpe d huez and the col de la Croix de fer
the last 2 arent tough climbs
Nice material at 4:21 on the right 😍
2:09 drum&bass!!!
👍🏼 nice ranking... 3 thing's about letras, there's 2 sides of letras side 1 Is the longest and famous the side 2 the short one is the infamous hell.
Pro cyclists make letras in 3 to 4 hours and the KOM record is 3 hrs 05 min... for the 80 km distance but there's a 86 km segment.
The hardest part that make letras the hardest above them all is the altitude reaching 4000 mosl and starting at 1900... there's a redefinition of training and conditioning for altitude. But you must get you own impressions GCN come and take on letras.
Letras is long and high but its not one of the hardest imo
check out Punta Veleno on Garda Lake.
The zoncolan from ovaro is crazy ,yes crazy ,averages 15.4 for last 8km ! The mortirolo from mazzo imo is harder overall,as there is absolutely no respite ever! It's so hard The 10% parts feel like a recovery..the mortirolo from tovo St agata is much harder with 23% ramps where it joins from famous mazzo route. The stelvio is hard due to altitude, the gavia is a bit like mortirolo,it's a beast.my 2 cents.
I climbed the Col de Joux Plane that was the most brutal climb I have climbed I think it was in the height of summer which made it even harder for me
Alto de Letras :D:D:D
Chocolate Voice Bevaaaannnn😃
Passo Dello Stelvio!?
Its long but its not sooooooooo hard.
More difficult than the ventoux for sure.
@@rubenschoenmakers5426 yeah also that one should not be included. I live in bolzano in the middle of the alps and here we have a lot of alpine passes which are more difficult but not that present in races like the manghenpass, timmelsjoch etc.
Absolutely! And the weather there is a real gamble. The climb from Trafoi to the summit is probably the most challenging for the bikers in Europe.
What about Colle delle Finestre?
The Killer Mile of Mow Cop in Staffordshire. 9% straight into the climb, then creeping up through the teens till you get to a few 100 metres of 20%, then 200 metres of 25%, which isn't the end, it "eases" off back into the teens for the last 300 metres. Oh and it is bumpy in sections and goes under the trees early on making it slippy. #ouch
Passo dello Stelvio, Colle delle Finestre and Passo Fedaia from Italy
If the koppenburg was on the list then the paterberg should be too. That climb is crazy
Paterberg is just around 400 meters with an maximum gradient of 20.8 percent.
Joux Plane ... savage. The only climb to crack Armstrong while he was on go faster juice
can you remake this video with cool visual maps? all the stats are great but seeing it on a map will really let the difficulty sink in.
Alto de Letras..... brutal!!!!!
Stelvio is the one i miss
Personally I think Everest is a contender. Pretty chill up there but don't expect to find a Mc Donalds. You never know though, perhaps Dan (now Eurosport) could climb it if you gave him a beer or two.. and if he could clip in....
Mount Washington in New Hampshire like 12km at 12% with sweet spot at 22%
Not a professional climb though. It's only used for independent open races. Pro's do ride in those races sometimes though. It's brutal. It has extended sections around 16%. For the average serious amateur cyclist you absolutely have to have the gearing on your bike changed to allow at least a 1:1 gear ratio. Less for many riders.
Brasstown Bald, Georgia
pretty amazing. does anyone here know the road up from the harbour in white rock British Columbia Canada? I don't know it's gradient but i can hardly walk up it. The pedestrian slope has little bumps so people can manage up it. my guess is over 30 percent. nope i would NEVER try going up or (especially) down it.
Was Berti the most featured rider in these images?
Why isn’t a presenter bike check mini series? We want to see what bikes everyone has!!
Move over Koppenberg, get the pros on Trooper Lane in Halifax. Cobbled with a max of 33%. That'll sort the peleton out!
In Belgium and France there are real cobbles
At some point steep becomes stupid. I'm not sure where that happens, but definitely below 33%.
Alto del Picacho (Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia)
Hey just wanna let you guys know that He bicycle club has beaten the Guinness world record for the longest line of cyclists!
Alto e Los Machucos Cantabria España .... Froome dice, es el ascenso más difícil en mi vida
Maybe Passo dello Stelvio?
Wolverton Road Grimsby,Ontario, Canada...
You need to know more about Colombia
Doi Inthanon in Thailand - savage!
As below, Passo Dello Stelvio. From either side. Good to see the Mortirolo is on there, Gavia is quite an uphill battle too. Out to do all three again in May and to watch the Giro.
Dolomitenstrasse, Lienz, Austria. 7kms long, 13% average gradient.... Done this some years ago.
The Stelvio Pass, The Gavia, Alpe D'Huez
Alpe D'Huez isn't very steep, just famous.
Timmelsjoch (Passo Rombo)??
Passo Gau!?
Pikes Peak, Colorado !@£$%! :)
What about planche de belle filles in the tdf 2019 with the part where they had to ride on a dirt road?
It was also the time trial in the tour this year
La Plance Des Belles Filles is quite do-able
Col du granon is much difficult than plateau de solaison. Same distance and grade except to like 2400 m or something
Colle del Agnello and Passo dello Stelvio?
Mt Washington