Climb categories.

sampurnell
sampurnell Posts: 126
edited July 2010 in Pro race
How do the pro races catgorize climbs,

i.e 4th cat must avg 6% for 2 miles etc??

ta
x

Comments

  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,223
    There's not a hard a fast rule, it depends on other factors like road surface too.
  • Monty Zoncolan
    Monty Zoncolan Posts: 341
    I'm sure there's a more scientific way nowadays, but one of the Eurosport commentators mentioned during the Giro that a category 1 climb was one that was so steep, you had to drive up in first gear, cat 2 equated to second gear and so on. Hors categorie climbs were identified later where it was barely possible to drive up them in an old fashioned car at all.
  • clanton
    clanton Posts: 1,289
    As I understand it it can also be determined by when the climb happens during the stage - ie a climb at the end of the stage may be given a higher rating than one earlier - which is why L'alpe d'huez is given a HC category.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,223
    I think it's based on length, gradient, road surface, where it comes on the stage and possibly altitude. There's no equation as far as I'm aware, just a subjective view taken on how hard it is. Also, to give some perspective, when the Tour came to Britain in 93 and went up Ditchling Beacon it was classed as a 4th category climb - it has been a 1st cat climb in the ToB. That puts it on a par with the Pont St. Nazaire bridge which was also categorised as a 4th cat. Makes London - Brighton seem a bit easy :wink:
  • sampurnell
    sampurnell Posts: 126
    thank you all.
    was watching the tour online and thought "that 4th category doesnt look hard...."
  • Cleat Eastwood
    Cleat Eastwood Posts: 7,508
    loads of gubbins here for all your TDF needs

    http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/t ... ions-17218
    The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
    momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
  • donrhummy
    donrhummy Posts: 2,329
    There aren't really any hard and fast rules (which totally fits with organizers in cycling), for example:
    The organizers of the Tour have been very erratic in their classifications of climbs. The north side of the Col de la Madeleine has flip-flopped between a 1st Category to an Hors Category climb, even though it seems to be in the same position of a stage every year.

    http://www.faqs.org/faqs/bicycles-faq/p ... on-22.html

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