indieVelo's Lower Climb course is a 9.4km (5.84mi.) route with 629m (2,064ft.) of elevation, so get ready, it's "Just the warm up."
Route Description
Lower Climb is 9.4 km (5.84 miles) with 629 m (2,064 feet) of elevation. As the route subtitle indicates, this course has a mellow start. You are 800 meters (2,625 feet) into the course before you touch a 7% incline and begin your climb in earnest. You will spend most of your time on this climb at 8% or 9%. The average gradient for the entire course with the flattish first stretch is 6.7%.
It levels out and gives you slight relief from the gradient at 4.5 km (2.8 miles), but it is only a small false flat section before you resume your climb. At 6.6 km (4.1 miles), you are surprised by a brief descent around a 180-degree hairpin. A sharp attack here could catch a rival unprepared and with a lot of work to do to catch your wheel. If that tactic fails, you’ll get another chance at the next hairpin turn.
Your final respite from the unrelenting grade is at the flamme rouge hairpin, where there is a small flat bit of road. Being caught in the wrong gear could be costly because the gradient eases from 4% to 6%, and the speed will increase as the finish banner nears. The slight 8% to 9% kicker in the last few hundred meters will sting the legs and lungs, but the banner will be in sight.
As the name suggests, your ride ends before tackling the high mountain road to the summit. If stopping midway is unsatisfying, try the Straight Up route, extending Lower Climb all the way to the top.
Thank you, Beta-tester Rob Miller!
Route Profile
For more indieVelo coure recons check out the indieVelo-Route Descriptions page!
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.
