The indieVelo "Parry Vlo-Bae" Route-21.9km (13.6 mi), elevation 264m (866 ft)-a bit of everything, even the Forest Velodrome!
Route Description
One of the eighteen original Beta routes rolled out on The Island in 2023, Parry Vlo-Bae appeals to the spirit and the values of the spring classics and monuments, one of them very specifically, although the Island has no cobbles.
Parry Vlo-Bae is 22km/13.6 mi. long with 264m/866 ft of elevation.
It starts from the Velodrome and finishes at the Velodrome, with East a Hill to climb in the middle of the circuit that will determine who’s going to be eligible for the win and who is a definite loser 🙂
The first part of the route follows the west coast of the Island to reach North Lake. From there, it’s time to climb East a Hill, descend to South Lake, reach the East Coast, and turn South to arrive at the Velodrome.
Courtesy of Beta-tester Roman Edelhelfer!
The route is primarily flat until KM 7.0, where a small 300m bump at 2.4% will allow everybody to warm the engines.
KM 8.4 starts East a Hill, the KOM of the day. A juicy 3.1km climb at a 5.2% gradient average, with pikes beyond 10%. Have a nice day.
The climb has three sections. The first 400m are at a 5.4% gradient, followed by a 100m flat to trick your body into believing that the worse part has passed. Nothing could be farther from the truth, as the flat is followed by 800m at 8.4% average.
At this point, there is a 250m descent at 2% gradient to trick you again since a last section of 1.1km at 5.7% with pikes at 9% is still left.
Route Profile
If you have been competing seriously, by the time you reach the banner at the top of East a Hill, you should not be able to remember your name, and you will have the impression that the descent lasts one nanosecond.
The 1km false flat at a 2% gradient is where the final riders will be selected. If you still have something left in you, you should not hesitate and push because the pack you keep with at km 15 is undoubtedly the one you will arrive with.
The 4.5km flat section before the hill (1km at 2.5%) preceding the Velodrome will likely make no difference in the standings and time differences.
Once at the top, it’s important to remember that you need 1.5 laps of the Velodrome to finish the route, meaning that you need to cross twice the Velodrome banner.
Congratulations, you made it.
Route details and description courtesy of Beta-tester Andras Beck!
If you were courageous enough to read everything, here comes the extra tip.
Everything written before is accurate, except one very little minor thing left out to reward those reading carefully until the end.
East a Hill climb is critical. However, it is often not the most decisive moment in the race. At km 3.8, the road splits in two in a roundabout. The pack will automatically be split in two, with part going right (upper deck) and the other going left (lower deck). For around 600m, the two packs cannot see each other. It is not uncommon that this is the exact moment when one of the packs decides to make a massive push to break away. It’s called a Bjoerninha, in reference to one of the creators of indieVelo, who is very well known for his roundabouts stabbings.
Therefore if you don’t want to get caught out before the festivities have started, be vigilant during that 600 m, and collaborate with your pack to accelerate collectively to avoid being distanced by a Bjoerninha attack.
Thanks Luciano!
Check out the indieVelo-Route Descriptions page for more useful recon information.
Semi-retired after more than 20 years as the owner and director of a private Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice, Chris now enjoys the freedom to dedicate himself to his passions—virtual cycling and writing.
Driven to give back to the sport that has enriched his life with countless experiences and relationships, he founded a non-profit organization, TheDIRTDadFund. In the summer of 2022, he rode 3,900 miles from San Francisco to his “Gain Cave” on Long Island, New York, raising support for his charity.
His passion for cycling shines through in his writing, which has been featured in prominent publications like Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, road.cc, Zwift Insider, Endurance.biz, and Bicycling. In 2024, he was on-site in Abu Dhabi, covering the first live, in-person UCI Cycling Esports World Championship.
His contributions to cycling esports have not gone unnoticed, with his work cited in multiple research papers exploring this evolving discipline. He sits alongside esteemed esports scientists as a member of the Virtual Sports Research Network and contributes to groundbreaking research exploring the new frontier of virtual physical sport. Chris co-hosts The Virtual Velo Podcast, too.
What a fun course! A bit of everything!
It’s as challenging as it is engaging! One of my favorites too!