Monte Zoncolan cycling climb map

by Sidney van den Boogaard

The Ovaro side of the Zoncolan is the one a grand tour kept choosing when it wanted pure suffering. The first kilometres are merely hard; past the hamlet of Liariis the road kicks up to roughly fifteen percent for about six kilometres, with ramps of 22 percent and nowhere to recover. Italians call it 'the Kaiser', and you understand why long before three short tunnels announce the final switchbacks. You finish at 1730 metres in the Carnic Alps, having climbed more than 1200 metres in just ten kilometres. A poster for the rider who measures a good day in sweat and grimaces – and wants the proof on the wall.

This work is part of the Legendary Climbs collection: the most famous climbs in road cycling, from the Alps and the Pyrenees to the short, steep hills of Flanders and Limburg. Each climb is drawn from the real road, with the elevation profile coloured per kilometre and, along the bottom, the length, elevation gain, average and maximum gradient and the summit.

The road is drawn from OpenStreetMap data (© OpenStreetMap contributors) and the profile from Copernicus elevation data (EU-DEM). A great gift for any cyclist, to hang next to the bike or as a goal for next season.