These six climbs, which double as the sport's arenas and coliseums, are cycling's—and by extension, the world's—greatest ascents.
Alpe d'Huez
Isere, France 1 of 7
Vertical Ascent: 1,143 meters
Max Gradient: 14 percent
Perhaps the most famous climb in the world, Alpe d'Huez is truly cycling's Mecca, or its Rose Bowl if you prefer football analogies. Almost without fail, every year, this Tour de France mainstay ends up being a pivotal stage, where the maillot jaune can be won or lost. This is where cycling legends are born.
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Cycling EventsMont Ventoux
Vaucluse, France 2 of 7
Vertical Ascent: 1,622 meters
Max Gradient: 12 percent
Most Tour fans will recognize this mountain for the lone radio tower that sits atop its summit. But, this mountain lives in cycling lore for causing the greatest cyclist in history, Eddy Merckx, to require oxygen after his win at the summit in 1970. And really, that's all you need to know about this bare mountain that sits above the tree line.
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Cycling EventsCol du Tourmalet
Haute-Pyrenees, France 3 of 7
Vertical Ascent: 1,404 meters
Max Gradient: 13 percent
The 1910 Tour winner, Octave Lapize, famously yelled "assassins!" at race organizers after he had to walk up much of the Col du Tourmalet's steep roads. But that didn't stop the commemoration of a statue in Lapize's likeness, which stands at the climb's summit. In the statue Lapize is, quite fittingly, gasping for air.
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Cycling EventsCol d'Aubisque
Pyrenees-Atlantiques, France 4 of 7
Vertical Ascent: 1,190 meters
Max Gradient: 14 percent
Like the Tourmalet, this is one of two famous climbs that have appeared in two grand tours, the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana. This steep climb is so brutal that in the 1926 Tour, a dozen riders secretly finished the stage by bus.
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Cycling EventsPasso Stelvio
South Tyrol, Italy 5 of 7
Vertical Ascent: 1,842 meters
Max Gradient: 14 percent
Famous for its hairpin bends that wind up this long and torturous climb, Bernard Hinault holds the record for fastest ascent at a lengthy one hour and 18 minutes. Snow has forced Giro d'Italia race organizers to cancel this climb four times, and, in 2003, race leader Ivan Basso lost over 42 minutes on this single trek.
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Cycling EventsMonte Zoncolan
Italy 6 of 7
Vertical Ascent: 1,225 meters
Max Gradient: 23 percent
That's not a typo, this climb has a ridiculous 23 percent max gradient, making it one of the most demanding climbs in the sport of cycling. Team cars can't even fit on Zoncolan's narrow roads, forcing mechanics to carry spare bikes on motorcycles. While three routes lead you to the summit, Ovario is the most difficult, with race organizers only paving the final kilometers of the climb in 2007.
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