Which summit deserves the title of King of the Climbs? The choice is yours...

How it works

Our 16 chosen climbs will face off against each other in a series of public votes on our Twitter and Instagram channels. The winning climb progresses into the next round until only two remain. You're voting for your favourite - the most epic, the most iconic.

Check out the bracket below.
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Alpe d’Huez 
Distance 14km 
Elevation gain 1,120m

Could this be considered cycling’s most famous climb? It’s definitely up there, and is among the bucket list of climbs for many road cyclists, as well as the professionals. The Tour de France has ascended it 30 times. Its 21 hairpin bends, signposted with previous winners on the mountain, are entrenched in cycling history. Geraint Thomas’ name is now amongst them, after his brilliant win wearing the yellow jersey in 2018.
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Passo del Mortirolo 
Distance 12km 
Elevation gain 1,260m

Maze-like roads wind through Mazzo di Valtellina to the start of this brutal climb. ‘Not for the faint hearted’ is what the cycling guides warn, due to its almost 11% average gradient. If you’re looking for a climb with jaw dropping valley views, this is not the climb, as the winding single track road is shrouded by trees most the way up. Over the years the Giro has graced its leg-breaking slopes on a number of occasions, most recently in 2019, when the riders faced brutal conditions.
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Muro di Sormano 
Distance 1.9km
Elevation gain 300m

‘Muro’ meaning ‘wall’ in Italian renders the use of further adjectives to describe this climb superfluous. This leg stinger was even rejected by the Tour of Lombardy for a while, deemed “too much” for riders back in the 1960’s who were regularly seen walking up it, as the 15% average gradient, with ramps up to 25%, would get the better of them. Today it’s back on the menu with current pros having access to lower gearing. It’s a climb created purely for the hill climb masochist. 
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Lagos de Covadonga
Distance 17.2km
Elevation gain 1,070m

Located in some of Spain’s cycling heartland, Asturias, if you’re wanting a picturesque cycling climb, then look no further. The view from the top is breathtaking, as is climbing up it with its uneven gradients that ramp up to 15% in places. But, as they say, no pain, no gain; it’s worth every pedal stroke. A “latecomer” to the Vuelta a España, only appearing for the first time in 1983, but has seen the race go up it most years since.
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Old Willunga Hill 
Distance 3km
Elevation gain 222m

Our very own Richie Porte is known as the “King of the Hill” on this Australian entry. This climb comes early in the race calendar at the Tour Down Under and plays a pivotal part on the race’s GC. It’s smooth asphalt to the top and is an Aussie party ground, as fans line the roadside lapping up the mad atmosphere in, quite often, 30 plus degree heat.
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Muur van Geraardsbergen 
Distance 1km
Elevation gain 92m

When the Tour of Flanders organisers decided to omit this cobbled beauty from the race back in 2012 you could hear the moans of a 1,000 Flandriens (and the rest). But, by popular demand the organisers brought the climb back in 2017, allowing fans to flock back to the famous chapel slope and cheer their heroes on as they tackle this cobbled beast with it’s 20% gradient.
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Mont Ventoux 
Distance 21.4km
Elevation gain 1,639m

This mountain’s white cap beams like a beacon from miles away, the very sight of it conjures a pang of adrenaline to the stomach. Its slopes harbour stories of cycling battles – some of happy endings, some of grief and some of total bewilderment. The lunar landscape effect, thanks to its limestone scree, only adds to sweltering summer temperatures, whilst its infamous winds often play havoc - just like they did in 2016, when Chris Froome ended up running up the mountain. Just another page in this climb’s epic history book.
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Alto de l’Angliru  
Distance 12.4km 
Elevation gain 1,381m

Some say it’s the hardest climb of the three Grand Tours, and with an average gradient of 11.2% it definitely gives reason for complaint. A regular contender at the Vuelta a España, this northern Spanish brute often gives any peloton the jitters when set to ascend it.  
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Col du Tourmalet
Distance 19km (western side), 17.2 (eastern side)
Elevation gain 1,268 m

Included in the Tour de France more than any other climb, the mythical Tourmalet goes hand in hand with the most famous cycling race in the world. One of the highest, toughest climbs in the Pyrenees, few climbs give the same impression of riding above the clouds. Egan Bernal finished strongly up it on his way to winning the 2019 Tour.
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Col du Galibier
Distance 18.1km
Elevation gain 1,245m

The highest paved road in the Alps and usually the highest point of the Tour de France, the Galibier sits at a commanding 2,642m and looms large over the race. Its altitude and gradient always combine to create drama, right back to its Tour debut in 1911, when only three riders crested the climb without walking.
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Col de la Loze
Distance 21.5km
Elevation gain 1,690m

An Alpine upstart, the Col de la Loze is a brand new Tour de France climb -, and it could well be the most spectacular. The final 7km of the climb is raced on a unique purpose built bike path, where a brutal sting in the climb’s tail awaits the riders - pitches of 24% make the final kilometre seem endless. Used for the first time in the 2020 Tour, it could well be an instant classic.
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Monte Zoncolan
Distance 13.5km
Elevation gain 1,210m

The Zoncolan isn’t so much a climb as an ordeal. One of the very toughest climbs in Europe, it’s only appeared six times in the Giro d’Italia and yet has become an icon. Similar in style to the Angliru in Spain, yet usually graced with cold Alpine weather, its punishing gradients make for gruelling racing. Chris Froome famously conquered the beast in 2018 on his way to winning his maiden Giro.
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Winnats Pass
Distance 1.5km
Elevation gain 192m

The only British climb to make our list, but a more than worthy addition, Winnats Pass is on the bucket list of every keen cyclist in the UK. Scything through the middle of a beautiful limestone gorge in the Peak District it creates a natural amphitheater for cyclists to perform. With gradients reaching well above 20%, it’s no surprise that it’s a regular host of the UK hill climb championships.
Mur de Huy
Distance 1.3km
Elevation gain 121m

There are ‘walls’ in the world of cycling, and then there’s the Mur de Huy. Now best-known as the finish to Fleche Wallonne, the Mur de Huy has been causing carnage in bike races for centuries. Famous for the road art local fans paint it with just as much as its brutal gradients, the relatively short climb was a certainty for this list.
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Sa Calobra
Distance 9.5km
Elevation gain 670m

Mallorca’s very own Stelvio pass, Sa Calobra is draped across the northern end of the island and ridden up by cyclists from all over the world, all year round. An idyllic climb, it lacks the storied racing history of some others on this list, but for riding up with your mates, there are few better. It’s a regular haunt for the team on winter training camp on the island.
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Passo Dello Stelvio
Distance 24km (via Prato), 21.9km (via Bormio)
Elevation gain 1,766m (via Prato), 1,460 (via Bormio)

The Stelvio’s 46 hairpins need little introduction. Perhaps the most picturesque climb in the world, the Stelvio pass is an icon in the world of cycling, zig-zagging its way up into the Eastern Alps on the Italian-Swiss border. When included in the Giro d’Italia it usually marks the highest point of the entire race, at 2,757m. Rohan Dennis obliterated the race here in 2020, paving the way for Tao Geoghegan Hart’s remarkable Giro win.
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