Great "unknown" climbs

[Mrs John Murphy]

I'll try again with a modest contribution.

I would like to see a Tour of Britain stage finish with a climb of Draycott hill and a descent down Cheddar Gorge. Draycott hill is a similar climb to something like Stockeu from LBL. The middle section is a wall.

The descent of the Gorge:

In that area another nasty little punch finish would be to make them climb Broad Oak Hill out of Bristol then followed by Dundry Hill.

It would certainly free us from the usual boring stages they come up with.

There are plenty off good climbs and passes that they never use in Wales - the road to Bala is good as well and would make for some good climbing.

ie

 

[jobiwan]

This one has only been used in the Tour de France once, in 1994. I hope this sort of meets the criteria. If not, I'll feel free to delete. It needs to be used more definitely.

Val Thorens: a LONG, LONG drag to say the least. In it's only TdF use, it was the summit finish after already climbing the Glandon AND the Madeliene!

 

[jsem94]

Lol, I knew Scanuppia would get a mention in this thread - it's the steepest crap in the world.

Norway though is a country which is like 90% mountain, but few roads actually go anywhere up these mountains. There is one ski resort only open on summers though, that I was fortunate enough to drive down from after having climbed Galdhöpiggen (Norway's highest peak). It looks something like this:

By far the toughest climb in Scandinavia. Which is a shame, lol.

 

[just some guy]

What a great thread - thanks folks.

 

[Duartista]

In that area another nasty little punch finish would be to make them climb Broad Oak Hill out of Bristol then followed by Dundry Hill.

It would certainly free us from the usual boring stages they come up with.

There are plenty off good climbs and passes that they never use in Wales - the road to Bala is good as well and would make for some good climbing.

ie

That looks good.

As you say, there is plenty of scope in different parts of the UK to have at least 1 or 2 Ardennes style stages each year.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Another Spanish one: Santuario de San Miguel de Aralar, in Nafarroa (11,2km, 8,1%).

This one's the other side of Pamplona, and could be comfortably combined with the not very steep Zugargarate from Lekunberri, and the steeper but not long Puerto de Huitzi, climbing from Leitza. Leitza and Lekunberri have both hosted Vuelta al País Vasco stages, so it could feasibly be used in that race as well as the Vuelta; could also be linked to the Puerto de Azpirotz instead of Huitzi in that case.

It isn't as steep as the climbs I've been posting so far, but it still isn't easy. The gradient is also relatively consistent:

The road is in comparatively good condition in relation to much of what has been posted thus far too:

And this is the summit, what a view!

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

That climb to South Lake in the Everest Challenge is brutal.

That said, last week I did the hardest climb I've ever done, up the Monte Grappa. We ascended a different route than last year's Giro. Absolutely infernal. Multiple extended 18%-20% pitches.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Norway though is a country which is like 90% mountain, but few roads actually go anywhere up these mountains. There is one ski resort only open on summers though, that I was fortunate enough to drive down from after having climbed Galdhöpiggen (Norway's highest peak). It looks something like this:

I was going to post Juvasshytta soon actually, but since you have, let me just add a couple of images:

 

[King Of The Wolds]

Continuing on from the above, I couldn't resist posting this pic from the Portal do Inferno, on the Serra da Erada, other side of São Macário:

What's the gradient on that thing?! It's probably just the photo deceiving the eye, but that last bit at the top looks like it's about 30%.

 

[jsem94]

Yeah, Juvashytta is amazing. When we began going down the mountain in the car, I immediately wanted to ride it up by bike - I should do that at some point. And while I'm at it, do the Trollstigen climb.

 

[issoisso]

One obvious climb for the TdF is Puy de Dome, but I don't think that can even be an option any more.

When talking about the new TV technology that finally allows finishes in places with little space for the TV equipment, Preudhomme specifically mentioned how this would allow a return to Puy de Dôme.

This year's finish at the Mur de Bretagne was a test of that technology

 

[King Of The Wolds]

Libertine, genuine question, did you take these photos personally? Either way, I'm impressed that you've ridden them all if you did, or equally impressed that you know so much about them if you didn't.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Libertine, genuine question, did you take these photos personally? Either way, I'm impressed that you've ridden them all if you did, or equally impressed that you know so much about them if you didn't.

Nope, these are just photos I've dug out, some from other people's ride blogs and some from various sources on the net.

 

[Duartista]

Here is a gradual climb for hrotha - the climb up from Almedijar in the Serra d'Espada, in Castellon. You climb up through a cork oak forest, and then descend down to the picturesque Morisco village of Ain.

Ain:

 

[Libertine Seguros]

More gradual stuff, this one isn't an especially exciting climb but one I'd like to see in either the Vuelta or the Volta a Catalunya for sentimental reasons (it starts just outside Xavier Tondó's old hometown of Valls) - Mont-Ral (12,6km, 5,0%):

Rather a photogenic summit once again:

And some interesting scenery by the roadside too:

It's one of those climbs that would likely be a sprint of the elites, though.

 

[hrotha]

Thanks guys, but I meant more like 6-7% average gradients for +20 km, rather than "easy climbs even I could handle"

Another Spanish one: Santuario de San Miguel de Aralar, in Nafarroa (11,2km, 8,1%).

I remember being up there as a child. Nice place.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

More Germans - Oppenauer Steige, aka Zuflucht (8,0km, 8,3%):

Steep but not hellish, and relatively consistent:

Being located in the Schwarzwald, or Black Forest, the scenery of the climb itself is what you'd expect from somewhere based in an area known for its forestry:

Deep in the valley in this picture you can see Oppenau, the base of the climb:

No local Tour for this one so it would have to be some kind of Tour stage using the Vosges and Schwarzwald climbs, or a resurrection of the Deutschlandtour, sadly.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Col du Lein (from Saxon), Switzerland (13,0km, 8,8%)

This one's pretty vicious. A constant high gradient.

The location for this one is nigh on perfect to use in a number of races - the descent from the Col du Lein (on its easier side, so not as steep or as treacherous as the side from Saxon) deposits the riders right at the base of the Verbier climb. And of course the Verbier climb isn't especially long or especially steep, so we might be able to see some fireworks on the Col du Lein. And fireworks we should see. The location makes it a possible inclusion in the Tour de Romandie, the Tour de Suisse AND the Tour de France, although the time of year may rule the former out.

The climb starts in the Walliser Tal, and as a result the scenery is spectacular:

The look of the climb itself is nothing to be sniffed at either - it may be no Fedaia, but it will give most climbs a run for their money:

The only problem that we have is that for part of the last kilometre of the climb and the first 200m or so of the descent we have sterrato. As you can see here, however, the sterrato is not the most challenging, and the road is easy enough to handle with road bikes:

The short distance of sterrato shouldn't be a real problem to anybody as it's in good condition and not very long, and so given the location and the ease with which it can be attached to other climbs, especially Verbier, and also to potential stage towns like Martigny and Orsières, mean that this is probably, after São Macário, the climb that I've mentioned thus far that baffles me the most as to why it isn't being used.

 

[bhilden]

Col de l'Arpettaz near Albertville could add some spice to the Dauphine, Tour or any other race in this region. Total climb is 1161m over 16km. The last 11km average 8.4%.

http://www.climbbybike.com/profile.asp?Climbprofile=Col-de-lArpettaz&MountainID=6030

 

[LukeSchmid]

I am not sure whether this is totally practical, but Alpe Rossombolmo is an extremely challenging climb. It is seems to be mostly paved, although in parts in very bad condition and there is seems to be an unpaved section. Might not be enough room at the top for a stage finish.

Profile and write up here http://www.salitomania.it/index.php...53:le-salite-del-cusio-vco-valsesia&Itemid=56 It is in Italian but google translate seemed to do a reasonable job.

 

[Barracuda]

Great thread....

We have a couple albeit not as steep but still with stunning views over the coast.

Now if I could just figure out how to post a pic to the thread ????

 

[craig1985]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulJsjynZEZc

Zoncolan what?

Lol wut?

That's like impossible to ride up.

 

[craig1985]

Lol, I knew Scanuppia would get a mention in this thread - it's the steepest crap in the world.

Norway though is a country which is like 90% mountain, but few roads actually go anywhere up these mountains. There is one ski resort only open on summers though, that I was fortunate enough to drive down from after having climbed Galdhöpiggen (Norway's highest peak). It looks something like this:

By far the toughest climb in Scandinavia. Which is a shame, lol.

Surely Italy will annex Norway just to use that climb in the Giro.

 

[Ferminal]

I wonder how many people know that Alpe d'Huez is actually a mountain pass.

This is it climbed from Rochetaillée:

I had to edit your post to fix the URL.

That road links up with the Bourg d'Oisans climb at Huez? So if they wanted to use it as a pass they could only go to 1500m?

They could go up from the Bourg d'Oisans side to the turn (8km @ 8.5%), then descend, up Glandon, descend, up Madeleine, descend finish.

I don't think it's hard enough to be use the pass as the final climb, but it would be a good obstacle on a stage heading North.

 

[jsem94]

Surely Italy will annex Norway just to use that climb in the Giro.

The road first opens in mid-June.. so that'd be a problem haha.