I'll give you one...Mt. Palomar Near San Diego-I don't recall exactly, but it's something like a 4,000 foot climb for 15 miles or so. If I remember correctly, it would be classified as a Category 1-I think it misses all category because there are a couple flattish sections. Average grade is something like 6-7%.

That's all from memory, but probably reasonable close.

In Helen, GA, Hogpen is a 1 and Brasstown is a HC, per the general criteria. The ratings are subjective though, so there is no hardfast set of statistics that categorize climbs, as the position in the climb in the race course and other factors weigh in.

Climbs in races are catergorized based on two parts, first obviously is the grade and length, the second is the location of the hill along the course. So a hill that is a category 1 climb or HC at the end of 200 km's may be less at the beginning of the stage.

Mt. Figuroa out of Solvang is a solid Cat 1 climb from either side with either 12 miles or 9 miles of climbing. I would compare it to either the climb to the Mongie in the Pyrenees or the climb to Les Deux Alpes in the Alps (both Cat 1 climbs).

if you refer to the hardest level of climb... you mean HORS CATEGORY...... ''Hors'' is a french word meaning ''outside of category'' or if you prefer...too big to be categorize..... the prononciation might be similar to ''all''when said with a english accent but it s definitly not ''all category''

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Jonathan Caron / Professional Coach / ironman champions / age group world champions
Jonnyo Coaching
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Dude, they just has a thread on here for the toughest climbs. Anyway, Mt. Washington and Platte Clove Road (Saugerties, NY) are the toughest. People talk smack about rides in CO and out west. Platte Clove is 1.8 miles with nearly 2,000 feet of gain. Mt. Washington is 8 miles with nearly 5,000 feet of gain. Nothing in the USA is tougher. We also have Glade Hill Road in Sullivan County NY which is dirt, 31% for a bit.

Check out http://www.northeastcycling.com/NE_Climbs_main.html.

Peace out!

What about Mt. Evans in CO? 7,000' to over 14,000'.

Mt. Evans ride is over 25 miles. See http://www.northeastcycling.com/Favorite_Climbs.html which shows Mt. Washington is hardest US climb (of the majors).

Maybe - the average % grade is big but, the alititude factor is what really makes a difference on Mt. Evans. Mt. Washington is topped out lower than the start of the Mt. Evans climb and anything above 10-12,000 gets tough. In any case, all great climbs.

Hmm. Google Earth says this road goes from 324' to about 1930' over nearly 5 miles. I guess 2000 feet over 1.8 miles is the same as 1600' over 5 miles, for small values of 5 and 2000...

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"Go yell at an M&M"

Google Earth, which I just ran as well, is hardly accurate. I ran up the road Wednesday during a race. It is not five miles long.

That's a great link. Looks like I'll have to take some road trips to find some really good hill climbs.

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http://trigalwins.blogspot.com

...the only thing.

I'm pretty sure that Google Earth, as well as all the other mapping software on the web, uses USGS topological data. A quick glance at those maps (see topozone.com) would say that 5 miles is pretty accurate.

Here's a routeslip.com mapping of the road. You can tell me if I started and stopped at the right places.

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"Go yell at an M&M"

For what it's worth, Wikipedia describes Platte Clove Road as a narrow, two-lane road that climbs 1,200 vertical feet (366 m) in 1.4 miles (2.2 km) from West Saugerties along the clove's north wall is the only route through it. Trucks and buses are banned from it, and not maintained or even plowed between November and April. The Tour de Trump bicycle race was routed through here, and the road proved so steep that even some of the top bicyclists in the world had to get off and walk their bikes.

The local running club pegs the 2 mile stretch that is the hard bit of climbing at 1300 feet. It flattens towards the top and has easier bits along the way. It's tough, but there must be plenty of harder climbs around.

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2015 American Zofingen Du is May 17.
R.I.P. Chris Gleason

http://www.hlhap.com/azroadclimbs.html

There is a few good ones here.

I have only done a few of the big climbs. I thought Mt. Evans would be in the same category as Mt. Ventoux (which is HC). In a non-race scenario, Evans might be a bit easier since you can spin up the thing. But, if you're racing, I think they might feel roughly similar -- the high altitude of Evans would roughly offset the steepness of Ventoux. Trail Ridge Road (Rocky Mtn Nat'l Park) is probably one category easier.

Mt. Evans is a great ride, but you are right, you can spin up it, ive done it many times. Trail ridge road is also sweet, I used to do that all the time when I lived in boulder.

yep...well aware that its hors category...every time I've heard it pronounced in English, it sounds like all category-thought that was weird, but assumed that was the translation...thanks for setting me straight.

well...setting you straigh is maybe not right!!!! if there is someone that make mistake in english................ it s for sure me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Jonathan Caron / Professional Coach / ironman champions / age group world champions
Jonnyo Coaching
Instargram

LOL! Classic!

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