Twelve climbs to ride before you die

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Twelve climbs to ride before you die

Must-ride climbs in the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Belgium

Alto de L'Angliru, Spain

  • Bealach na Ba snakes up from

  • Richie Porte leads Chris Froome up the Alpe d'Huez in 2013, where LeMond expects this year's race to be decided (pic: Sirotti)

  • The Col du Galibier has been pulled from the 2015 Tour de France route (Pic: cyclepig / Creative Commons)

  • Cycling is an intrinsic theme of the story, with Ventoux the perfect metaphor (Pic: Sirotti)

  • Col du Tourmalet, Pyrenees

    Want to tick off both sides of the Col du Tourmalet in one sportive? Then the Marmotte Pyrenees is your event

  • The iconic Passo dello Stelvio is likely to feature on the 'must ride' list of any cyclist

  • The climb of Monte Zoncolan is the toughest ascent in Italy (Pic: Serafino Centenaro / Creative Commons)

  • Which roads feature on your must-ride list? (pic: Marie, via Flickr Creative Commons)

  • Chris Horner celebrates on the Angliru after he all-but sealed the red jersey in 2013 (pic: Sirotti)

  • Holme Moss, climb, Yorkshire (Pic: James Creegan / Creative Commons)

    (Pic: James Creegan / Creative Commons)

Alto de L'Angliru, Spain

The Alto de L’Angliru is the Monte Zoncolan of Spain and, with it, one of the hardest climbs in cycling.

It’s a climb of two halves, with a steady average gradient of 7.6% over the first five kilometres, which then drops too 2% for the sixth kilometre. However, the road strikes back from there, with an average pitch of 13.1% until the summit emerges more than five kilometres later at 1,570m. The steepest section, the Cueña les Cabres, is a soul-destroying 23.6% and comes 3km from the finish.

The climb has featured six times in the Vuelta a Espana since 1999. “We’re not animals and this is inhuman,” said David Millar, after refusing to cross the finish line in 2002. Millar, who had started the stage in ninth overall, was forced to retire from the race.

Vital statistics

Length: 13.2km
Average gradient: 9%
Start elevation: 384m
End elevation: 1,625m

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