The 258.5km elite men’s road race course at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck includes 4,670 metres of climbing. That places it only 10th in the UCI’s list of Worlds with the most elevation gain, over 1,000m less than the 1966 Nurbergring race in Germany. However, this year’s road race is widely being touted as the hardest World Championships ever because of the final climb of the race, the final sting in the tail: Höttinger Höll.
The climb of Höttinger Höll is only 2.9km long but has a terrible final kilometre with sections over 20 per cent and a false flat that gives little chance to recover. Whoever manages to open a gap over the top of the climb can dive down the twisting descent to the centre of Innsbruck and win the world title, perhaps alone or from a very select group.
The Höttinger Höll can be compared to the Mur de Huy climb that decides Flèche Wallonne, or the Côte de Saint-Nicolas that is often a launch pad for the winning attacks at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. But it is longer, and also steepens more and more as it winds through the trees and points up towards the Karwendel Alps. The average gradient is ‘just’ 11.5 per cent but one section is at 28 per cent.
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The Road World Championships have never ended with such a steep climb. It will be a fight against gravity and fatigue.
"There will be a group of 40 or 50 riders at the foot of the Höll climb, some will be forced to walk up the final part, while fewer than 10 will emerge and fight for the rainbow jersey down in Innsbruck, and perhaps a rider can even win alone," former Milram and RadioShack rider Thomas Rohregger predicts.
A 'three-course' race and seven hours in the saddle
Details of the ride to Höll
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/welcome-to-hll-the-climb-that-will-decide-the-mens-world-championships-road-race
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