Great "unknown" climbs

[May0maniac]

Estrada da Corda (Ilha de Santo Antão)

The island of Santo Antão is one of ten islands of Cabo Verde. And since this beautiful island country will win the next African Cup of Nations , it's time to take a look on this country.

The Estrada da Corda is a road between the municipalities of Porto Novo and Ribeira Grande.This beast of a climb is completely cobbled. 35 kilometers of cobblestones. But it is not only cobbles and insanely staggering nature, it is also a very demanding climb from both sides.

If you tackle the climb of the "road of ropes" from the north side of the island, you will start in Ribeira Grande. From sea level the road rises up to 1413 meters on a distance of 17 kilometers. So we have an average gradient of 8,3%, which maxes out at 17%. It's like a little Koppenberg in the middle of a hard climb.

From the south side it is almost the same length and the same gradient. But the middle part with short hairpin after short hairpins features about 5-6 kilometers at 10-12%.

I believe, that there were actually road races held on these streets and it seems like they had to climb and to descent on these roads.

Wow, 17km with an average gradient of 8,3% on cobbles, that's brutal

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

wow that climb looks amazing.

one of the best ones I've seen in this topic (which admittedly I haven't studied in depth)

 

[May0maniac]

Has anyone already seen the newest monster on climbbybike.com, Via a Gallipan?
http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Via-a-Gallipan&qryMountainID=18094
14,4km at 14,4%, but from what you can see on google earth it's mostly paved.
I know that the other side of the climb from Caracas is paved with nice urban cobbles, you find a few pictures and a video
So you have a paved descent, you could use the first 13km of the climb, 13km at 14,3% with 29% steep ramps, and descent down to Caracas.
I think this one is from the Caracas side, but I'm not sure:

This one is from the La Guaria side of the climb that you'd climb, you don't see a lot but the road seems to be fine:

another one from the La Guaria side of the climb:

If anyone knows something about this climb and knows if the whole climb is paved please tell me. I know that this one is borderline crazy and maybe too hard, but you could use it in the Vuelta a Venezuela.

 

[Guybrush]

sick climb, even hard to ride on descent with those gredients

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

Wow that's a crazy one again!

 

[StyrbjornSterki]

Brasstown Bald

A 1/3rd scale Alpe d'Huez in the north of the state of Georgia, frequently used as an HC MTF in the (sadly, now defunct) Tour de Georgia. Average slope of 9.8%, kicks up to 24% in a couple of the switchbacks. YouTube video of the climb during the 2007 TdG here.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Really enjoyed looking back on this thread. Some great climbs here.

 

[May0maniac]

I think Passo Nigra/Nigerpass is the forgotten pass of the Dolomites.

There ar 3 sites of the climb that you could use.
The southern side with Karerpass before it:

Ok, this one is probably the worst side of the climb, it could be a nice penultimate climb in an Alpe di Suis/Seiseralm stage.
The 2nd option is better:

But the 3rd one is by far the best:

The first half before the false flat is a real legbreaker, 1km at 16%, with a max. gradient of 24%, nasty stuff.
The climb can be connected with most of the classic passes of the Dolomites that you find around Cortina and the Ladin valleys, you could also use the climb to Seis am Schlern/Susi allo Sciliar (7km at 8,7%) right before it.
The hardest side of the climb would make for a good MTF, the first ungodly steep prt of the climb could to some damage and we could already have a very small group before the 2nd half of the climb starts.
But a MTF wouldn't be the best option, using it as the penultimate climb could be even better:

Don't mind the rest of this stage after Passo Pampeago, I'd have a descent finish in Cavalese after Passo Pampeago, that could be an awesome stage.
You could do the same with Passo di Lavazè as the final climb, that would be another great stage.
Passo Nigra really is one of of the forgotten passes of the Dolomites and culd be linked with many other good climbs and I'd love to see it in the Giro, that's the reason why I decided to write this post.

 

[Taxus4a]

Re:

Estrada da Corda (Ilha de Santo Antão)

The island of Santo Antão is one of ten islands of Cabo Verde. And since this beautiful island country will win the next African Cup of Nations , it's time to take a look on this country.

The Estrada da Corda is a road between the municipalities of Porto Novo and Ribeira Grande.This beast of a climb is completely cobbled. 35 kilometers of cobblestones. But it is not only cobbles and insanely staggering nature, it is also a very demanding climb from both sides.

If you tackle the climb of the "road of ropes" from the north side of the island, you will start in Ribeira Grande. From sea level the road rises up to 1413 meters on a distance of 17 kilometers. So we have an average gradient of 8,3%, which maxes out at 17%. It's like a little Koppenberg in the middle of a hard climb.

From the south side it is almost the same length and the same gradient. But the middle part with short hairpin after short hairpins features about 5-6 kilometers at 10-12%.

I believe, that there were actually road races held on these streets and it seems like they had to climb and to descent on these roads.

Great post, amazing climb.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Passo Nigra/Nigerpass - what a name

 

[Gigs_98]

There are definitely not enough Austrian climbs on this thread considering how many there are and how bad they get used, and I think this one is a climb really only a few of you know.

Zeinisjoch (1822m)

Its quite funny. Everyone complains that the passes in Austria are used so bad and talks about numerous climbs which could be used (maybe not in this thread but in threads like the Race Design thread) but still I have never ever heard anyone mentioning this pass with a western ascent which isnt only 7 kilometers long but also over 10% steep.

But actually this has a good reason and the reason has a name: Silvretta Hochalpenstraße.
This street with the Bielerhöhe as its pass runs parallel to the Zeinisjoch. And lets be honest, hardly anyone thinks about using this unknown climb when you have the most beautiful pass of the country and also one of the hardest ones right beside it. Moreover the Zeinisjoch shares one big problem with the Bielerhöhe which is the relatively easy eastern side. It is very long but also very flat so you shouldnt expect anything on that climb.

Nevertheless there is still a lot you can do. Especially a combination of the two climbs in one stage is quite obvious. For example you can use the hard west side of the Zeinisjoch followed by a short descent and a short ascent to the Bielerhöhe. The Bielerhöhe wont be a very hard climb in this case but the stage could still have a lot of potential. You can also do it the other way around but unfortunately I don't think you can make a mtf on the Zeinisjoch (there is a parking place, but only a very small one) and before the next possible finish town after a descent there would be a bit of flat before the finish. Talking about the descent that one would be extremely difficult because there are lots of switchbacks and the street is very narrow.

Zeinisjoch followed by Bielerhöhe:

Bielerhöhe, followed by Zeinisjoch and the descent back to Partenen

If you don't want to use the Bielerhöhe you can ofc also just climb the Zeinisjoch and then directly descend to Galtür where you can finish the stage, or you can descend a bit longer down to Ischgl.

 

[May0maniac]

I dislike most of the desert races, the Tour of Qatar is cool because of the crosswinds and Oman is a decent first test for the riders, but races like Dubai and the Abu Dhabi Tour suck.
Still, there are a few stunning climbs on the Arabian Peninsula and I'd like to introduce you to a few unknown climbs.
First we have Lawdar Mountain Pass in Yemen, 12.2km at 9.85% with 4km that are 13-14% steep, a really hard climb.

It's a stunning climb with 34 switchbacks, it's just gorgeous.

But that's not the only great climb that you'll find in Yemen,Yabal Sabir/Saber from Ta'izz, is another stunning climb

The climb features 55 switchbacks and according to dangerousroads.org it's 19km at 8.8%, but the gradient rarely goes above 12% (When I traced the climb I got similar numbers, so it should be correct). There's a heliport on top of the climb, so there should be enough space to hold a MTF.
I know, with the ongoing proxy war/civil war we won't see any bike races in Yemen anytime soon, but the country has a few awesome climbs.
Saudi Arabia features one of the most stunning climbs that I've seen in a long time, Al Hada Road from Mecca.
It's a long drag, 26.3km at 5.5% with a few longer sections between 7 and 8%, but it's a gorgeous climb.

Centanly the UCI wouldn't have any problems with holding a race in a rich dictatorship like Saudi Arabia, I, personally, despise the Saudi regime and wouldn't want to support a bike race that is founded with Saudi oil money, but I still have to admit that seeing a stunning climb like Al Hada Road in a race would be great.

 

[Ataraxus]

Re:

I dislike most of the desert races, the Tour of Qatar is cool because of the crosswinds and Oman is a decent first test for the riders, but races like Dubai and the Abu Dhabi Tour suck.
Still, there are a few stunning climbs on the Arabian Peninsula and I'd like to introduce you to a few unknown climbs.
First we have Lawdar Mountain Pass in Yemen, 12.2km at 9.85% with 4km that are 13-14% steep, a really hard climb.

It's a stunning climb with 34 switchbacks, it's just gorgeous.

But that's not the only great climb that you'll find in Yemen,Yabal Sabir/Saber from Ta'izz, is another stunning climb

The climb features 55 switchbacks and according to dangerousroads.org it's 19km at 8.8%, but the gradient rarely goes above 12% (When I traced the climb I got similar numbers, so it should be correct). There's a heliport on top of the climb, so there should be enough space to hold a MTF.
I know, with the ongoing proxy war/civil war we won't see any bike races in Yemen anytime soon, but the country has a few awesome climbs.
Saudi Arabia features one of the most stunning climbs that I've seen in a long time, Al Hada Road from Mecca.
It's a long drag, 26.3km at 5.5% with a few longer sections between 7 and 8%, but it's a gorgeous climb.

Centanly the UCI wouldn't have any problems with holding a race in a rich dictatorship like Saudi Arabia, I, personally, despise the Saudi regime and wouldn't want to support a bike race that is founded with Saudi oil money, but I still have to admit that seeing a stunning climb like Al Hada Road in a race would be great.

I happened to scroll the map approx. 400km south of Mecca (I guess it is called the Aseer region) and I came across climbs that could kick some a** steepness-wise.
9km at 13% ; 8km at 14%; 12.5km at 14%; 7km at 19%. And almost all of them in asphalted roads.

 

[BigMac]

This cobbled rarity.

 

[carolina]

Re:

This cobbled rarity.

that seems like a nice place to explore next weekend

Now, let's go to strava and create a route. I just hope it doesn't rain.

 

[Gigs_98]

Wow. WOW. WOW
I want to see this climb in a big cycling race. Vuelta start in Portugal, make it happen!

 

[Brullnux]

Just start watching Volta a Portugal, the real 4th GT. You get these climbs (OK, not quite) and third rate putting out times and watts that beat Froome at full genius Ventoux-style.

 

[May0maniac]

Tesselberg/Montassilone is one of the most famous training climbs around Bruneck/Brunico. Most of the local guys prefer to use those rather unknown climbs as their training climbs, there's just too much traffic on the big names in the dolomites, (the hard side of the Giau with its tunnels can be a pain in the ass with all those goddamn motocycles).
Smaller climbs like Tesselberg/Montassilone are a good alternative, there are 7km of rolling terrain on top of the climb, but both sides of the climb are hard, the northern side of the climb (from Uttenheim/Villa Ottone) is nasty, the first 5.2km are 12.1% steep, with a few ramps at 17%.

But you also shouldn't underestimate the southern side of the climb (from Percha/Perca), you have a flat section in the middle of the climb, but the first 2km are at 10% and the final 2km are at 11%.

But a climb is not just numbers, the view on top of it is breathtaking and those 7km of rolling terrain are really fun to ride.

To sum things up, it's an awesome climb that most people don't even know.

 

[railxmig]

I've catched this one in Poland just west of Szklarska Poręba. It's called Stóg Izerski and it's 5,2km at 10,7% with 20,4% (or even 27%) max. The site i've linked is in polish but you can easily find there the profile and map of this climb. Actually this climb seems to be entirely asphalted but the quality of it is very bad with a lot of potholes but after some works it could be a fine counter to the Przełęcz Karkonoska. It can be nicely linked with Szklarska Poręba and Karpacz.

 

[capuldemetal]

what about this 'little beast''? Transbucegi,Prahova county,Romania


Average grade: 5.4 %
Length: 31.21 km
Height start: 770 m
Height top: 2473 m
Ascent: 1703 m

 

[fauniera]

New addition at Cyclingcols: Berghaus Nagens in Switzerland, near Laax.

Completely asphalted now, according to quäldich.

http://www.quaeldich.de/paesse/berghaus-nagens/

 

[MikeTichondrius]

That's a lotta red.

 

[TromleTromle]

Re:

That's a lotta red.

BRRRRRRUTAL - needs to be kept off hands from Guillen - or we might see LV in Suisse soon

 

[MikeTichondrius]

Re: Re:

That's a lotta red.

BRRRRRRUTAL - needs to be kept off hands from Guillen - or we might see LV in Suisse soon

Heh, I'd be down for the Puerto de la Forclaz or the Puerto de la Albula.

 

[McLovin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dO77C3kYsw

Balea Pass (North)
25.8 km with 6% average slope. I climbed it for the first time this summer. It's not that unknown.