Saturday, 22 June: The Tour de France starts with a bang. The first stage is played out on a 206-kilometre route with an elevation gain of 3,800 metres.
The ‘Côte de Saint-Marin’ summit lies 25 kilometres before the summit. The first 10 kilometres fly downhill back into Italy, while the last 15 are flat.
Climbing Defined by the Number
You’re either going up, down or flat when you’re riding.
For every 100 feet, you go forward, you will also travel vertically for a certain number of feet.
You’ve got your grade if you put a percentage sign after that vertical distance.
For example, suppose you go up two feet as you go forward 100 feet. That’s a 2% grade. Suppose you climb eight feet as you go forward 100 feet. That’s an 8% gradient.
If you want to determine the status of climbs by the numbers, we can look at the classification system used in most professional races. That would mean climbs are classified as 4, 3, 2, 1 (and Hors Categorie or “HC” in the Tour de France.) This determination is made by a combination of length in kilometres and average gradient, with the position of the climb in the route and the degree of road surface being lesser determinants. See below:
- Category 4 – the lowest category, climbs of 200-500 feet (70-150m). Length is usually less than 2 miles (3km)
- Category 3 – climbs of 500-1600 feet (150-500m), between 2 and 3 miles (3km and 4.5km) in length.
- Category 2 – climbs of 1600-2700 feet (500-800m), between 3 and 6 miles (4.5km and 10km) in length.
- Category 1 – climbs of 2700-5000 feet (800-1500m), between 6 and 12 miles (10km and 20km) in length.
- Hors Category (HC) – the hardest climbs of 5000+ feet (1500m+). Usually more than 12 miles (20km) in length
As for gradients, typically, to classify a climb, the average gradient has to be above 4%. Hors Category (HC) climbs generally average >10% or have an extreme length at a slightly lesser grade.
