Le breton said:
Thanks a lot for the report. I always had fantasies of flying to Malaga (from Geneva) to do it, but was deterred by the high cost of the flight in the summer (that was before Easyjet flew to Malaga). So now I know it wasn't really doable on my road bike anyway.
Climbing Mauna Kea from sea-level would definitely have been way too expensive with Geneva as a starting point.
I definitely recommend a cycling holiday in Spain. But I wouldn't advise that trail up to Pico Valeta on a road racing bike, unless you've run out of ways to prove how tough you are on a bike. Or what an idiot you are, which is what I felt like for most of the way. Take a tough bike.
You mention Mauna Kea. Hawaii is one of my dream destinations as well, and I'd love to see a GT bike race there. Also Peru.
This set me thinking. All the climbs on this thread. Would any of them actually make a decent
race?
Take Alpe d'Huez. It isn't actually that hard a climb. But being a summit stage finish in the World's biggest annual sporting event, contested by the World's best racing cyclists, it's bound to produce an intense competition. However, there are harder climbs that aren't as lip-smacking as Alpe d'Huez, because they don't generate the same drama.
Or the Col du Galibier. Only time I've ever felt scared going UP a climb was up the south side of the Galibier. I didn't think i would complete the circuit Lauteret - Galibier - Telegraphe - Croix de Fer - Alpe d'Huez. Figured I'd see how my legs felt at the top of the Galibier and decide whether or not to turn around and go back. But having just ridden up that F.cliff, I didn't care what was on the other side, no way was i going back down the way I'd just come up. (i didn't know that the road on the north side is steeper. But then, it's also less fall-off-able).
My point is, how often in modern times has the Col du Galibier been a determining factor in a bike race? In this year's TdF it was a significant climb when it was a summit finish. But the following day it didn't make as much of a difference to the race. In most editions of the TdF, the Galibier is a sideshow to an Alpe d'Huez finish. Same for the Tourmalet in last year's TdF.
So a 'hard' climb isn't necessarily 'hard' if the pros aren't actually racing each other up (and over) it. Likewise, an 'easy' climb isn't so 'easy' if Eddy Merckx is trying to gain a few minutes on you. (Even the 2011 Eddy Merckx, not just the 1971 vintage).
So if you want my nomination for Unknown Climbs that would make a great Grand Tour, make the Tour de France stick to coastal roads for 3 weeks. Up and down them F.headlands all day, no chance to settle into a climbing rhythm, ever-changing crosswinds, exhausted domestiques. Few days of that would soon wear out them sprinters' teams. Try and win that TdF. Even Jens Voigt would discover muscles that have never ached before.
Couple of years from now it'll be the 100th Tour de France. Stuff them mountains. Celebrate by going back to 6 stages of 500km each on unsurfaced roads. Let's see you watch that live. And forget drugs, give us a did-he-or-didn't-he take the train-? scandal.