Windswept and remote this climb begins in Brynamman, Carmarthenshire, and goes for 3.7 miles with a 12% gradient. If you survive the absolute wall out of Pontypridd along Graigwen Road, you'll be treated to one of the most beautiful routes in this part of South Wales as the road follows a ridge high above Taff Valley to the historic church of Llanwonno. Scroll down the page to access the full Top 10 Welsh Bike Climbs on the Map below (or switch to "Table" for a detailed list). The second set of switchbacks are steeper still, and these now 30% slopes will have you straining every sinew as your front wheel desperately searches for a kinder gradient and weaves all over the road fighting to stay upright. Get the arrow-straight, slightly soul-destroying drag past Tower Colliery out the way and enjoy the way this climb gently curves its way across the front of the mountain. We asked Simon Warren to provide us with lists of both the Top 10 Hardest, and Top 10 Most Epic bike climbs in England, Wales, Scotland, and the UK. To climb from the east, begin at the warning sign at Jubilee Bridge. The lower half is a meander through pastoral scenery, before suddenly opening out onto exposed mountain top with stunning views of the peaks around Abergavenny. Bedlinog The maximum gradient is 13%. The road levels slightly but the surface is cut up and damaged. Gwent The toughest climb in south Wales Where Heading west on the A465 from . The three vicious ascents leaving Woodmancote all offer a fantastic challenge, and of the three it's Bushcombe Lane that stands apart. Scanuppia Arguably, though, he is best known as the author of Cycling Climbs series of books. But as the road heads into the trees, it rears up sharply, and doesn't drop below 12% until the very top. In fact, there is a sign at the start warning that the road is Unsuitable for motor vehicles. Although I assume this is mostly to keep tourists away as we intersected multiple residents traveling the road in their cars. The gradient kicks up to 14% as you head through the Cimla area of Neath, before a descent the other side takes you down into the Afan Valley. The sense of achievement? The top few miles of the Swansea Valley take you up the steady slopes of a wide and straight main road up to the beautiful Crai Reservoir. The English name for the area derives from Snowdon, which is the highest mountain in Wales at 3560 ft (1,085 m). Learn More ALL TRIPS The Tour of Britain tackled the climb in 2010, when Swiss Michael Albasini attacked up it to take a solo win in Swansea. Anything you have read or been told about this amazing road is likely to be true. On our climb, we encountered a car and had to back up nearly a kilometer to find a place where they could pass. Ride only 600 meters but at a stunning 21.3% average grade. From there it's a steep and tough push to reach the saddle of the pass. The Shelf - 262m - 5 to 15% - 5.1km #87. Its quite a strange effort needed to try and get the KOM, he explains. (If you're cyclist in North, Mid or West Wales, we'll be preparing similar articles for your area - and there's a form at the bottom to send your suggestions). Check the forecast before you head out and be prepared for harsher weather at the top. Don't let the urban nature of this climb fool you - it's not easy. In Wales cyclists can find 74 interesting climbs between 5 and 550 meters above sea level. 1. Follow the road alongside the river to Llanymawddwy, pass through and begin the climb across the Pont y Pennant. The superlative Bwlch y Groes is coincidentally ranked #2 most epic hill climb in Wales and 3 in all the UK. The bottom of the Abercynafon climb - note the 20% gradient, The open countryside of the Baran Road climb, The open part of the Bedlinog climb, after leaving the village, Looking south from the climb up the Black Mountain, The profile of the Black Mountain, from Brynamman, Looking down at the upper reaches of the Black Mountain climb from Llangadog, Looking north from the top of the Black Mountain, The profile for the Black Mountain from Llangadog, The top of the British, heading out of Abersychan, Steep inclines before leaving Aberdare on the way up Maerdy Mountain, The hairpin on the climb up Maerdy Mountain from Aberdare, Descending from the Bwlch into the Afan Valley, Near the top of the Bwlch, from the Afan Valley, The profile for the climb up the Bwlch from the Afan Valley, Looking up towards the summit of the Bwlch on the way up from Treorchy, The early part of the Caerphilly Mountain climb after leaving Tongwynlais, The steepest part of the climb up Caerphilly Mountain from Tongwynlais, The profile of the climb up Caerphilly Mountain from Caerphilly, The 20% slopes of the Wenallt climb up Caerphilly Mountain, The profile of the Wenallt climb up Caerphilly Mountain, Dan Martin and Nairo Quintana lead up Caerphilly Mountain in the 2013 Tour of Britain, The final kick on the Mountain Road ascent of Caerphilly Mountain, The profile of the climb up Caerphilly Mountain from the centre of the town, The road up Cefn Bryn stretching into the distance, The higher part of the Cimla climb out of Neath, The steep and cobbled slopes of Swansea's Constitution Hill, The long stretch up to Crai reservoir from Pen y Cae, The view down from the top hairpin on the Devil's Elbow, The top section of the Gospel Pass, after the steepest parts, Climbing up alongside dry stone walls and mountain streams on Heol Lan, Looking back down the climb out of Llangattock, Looking back down from the top of Llangynidr Mountain, Llanguicke Road: Almost unimaginably steep, The views from close to the summit of Llangynidr Mountain, The climb from Llangwm towards Shirenewton, The climb to Llanwonno, shortly after leaving the houses of Graigwen Road, The forested section close to the top of the climb to Llanwonno from Pontypridd, Onto more open terrain at the top of the Maerdy Mountain, The profile of the climb up Maerdy Mountain, The Old Black Rock climb from Gilwern to Brynmawr, The relentless gradient to the top of Penrhys, One of the steepest sections of the climb up past Pontypridd Golf Club, Looking back from the top of the Pontypridd Golf Club climb, The profile for the Pontypridd Golf Club climb, The top section of the Rhigos on the north side, The profile of the Rhigos climb from Hirwaun, The profile of the Rhigos from Treherbert, Rhiwr Road is difficult from the very start, Looking back towards Monmouth shortly after leaving Mitchel Troy on the climb to Trelleck, The profile of the climb towards Trelleck from Mitchel Troy. The less celebrated of two routes up Llangynidr Mountain, the climb from Llangattock is no less difficult. Once past an axle weight sign the climb begins. One of the hardest climbs in the South West (Credit: Mark Percy) Dunkery Beacon is one of the toughest climbs in the south west of England with 321m of climbing over 3.1km. Best time to cycle J F M A M J J A S O N D Ranking list Wales Difficulty points Gradient Length Total ascent The Harlech Hell Climb event was held on the excruciating climb on Sunday (August 11), with riders tackling the 330 metre climb, which averages 17 per cent and reaches a maximum gradient of 37.45 . Just keep going, then head down the terrifying descent. We relied heavily on Simon Warrens Top UK Climbs Series in ranking and documenting UK bike climbs (. ) Length: 64.8km Maximum gradient: 13% Vertical: 1,785m Hazards: Heat exhaustion and death America's Death Valley is not generally known as a great place to ride. Eventually you'll bend around to the left and the battered, rugged road levels for good. From the long, straight opening stretch, the summit seems scarily close in distance, while worryingly far away in altitude. With a maximum gradient of 22% and an average gradient of 8.1% youre afforded great views of Aberdare the higher you climb. I asked. Approaching 20%, you crawl through harsh, boulder-littered scenery, a massive slog to the briefest of levels where the classification of the road changes public cars are allowed no further. The hardest ascent is from the west, beginning at Fell Foot Farm, where straight away you have a 20% right-hander and that's just a taste of what lies ahead. Our first relentless climb is Abercynafon, found between Talybont-on-Usk and Pontsticill. The faint summit can be seen straight in front for a large part of the climb, making it easy to set an impatient tempo that'll come back to bite you later on. We have twice personally documented the Welsh Top 10 Hardest Climbs. This challenging route is found between between Ystrad Mynach and Merthyr Tydfil and is a distance of 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres). Now straightening up, the next stretch is ridiculously hard, the main problem here being just staying upright while either side of the road, sheep wait to see if yet another rider falls victim to the Chimney. Or should we be asking, how accurate? Baniamr Aquabah Pass, 6. Simon Warren lists this as the third hardest climb in Wales, and sixth toughest in all the UK. From the junction with Station Road, exit the village past the first 25% sign then the road bends left at a second 25% warning as if you need reminding, it's going to be hard. Climbs have an average length of 4.2km and 248 meters of total ascent. Named after the river beside it, the Afon Ddu (Welsh for black river) which flows down from Llyn Cowlyd I ask Dan how he first came across it. They will help you plan, document and conquer your next adventure. This is the highest paved road and hardest bike climb in Wales. This climb is simply a monster with several stretches in the red zone - above 16%, including one massive stretch at 20% for 200 yards. The 1.9 mile route is memorable for its scary hairpin climb. Afon Ddu, 7. This climb was renowned throughout the 1970s and 80s as the most challenging climb used in the Milk Race round-Britain cycle race (, The History of Motor Sport and the Bwlch-y-Groes is nearly as old as motorsport. And yet once you get to the top, you'll realise you enjoyed every second. The Tyla rounds The Blorenge Mountain from Gilwern, and its an incredibly challenging climb, mainly because of its steep lower slopes. These days, cyclists have it pretty much to themselves, save for the odd bit of local traffic. What comes next will take your breath away. for this page: 100 Greatest Climbs - A Road Cyclists Guide To Britains Hills; Cycling Climbs of Wales; see also https://www.100climbs.co.uk/books). . We owe a great debt of gratitude to Simon Warren for his books generally and for his contribution of Top 10 lists for PJAMM Cycling. is the highest tarmacked pass in Wales (100 Greatest Cycling Climbs - Britain). The Travel App includes many helpful travel tools, including: an itinerary, interactive map with points of interest and all loaded routes as well as navigation to each; a tracking feature that shows participant locations; records statistic for routes completed; post photos and text in real time to blog and map; and a share feature so friends, fans and family can follow you and your adventure on our interactive map. Holding a straight line is becoming all but impossible and the effort needed is simply unsustainable. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. This climb is along the southeastern edge of Snowdonia National Park (established 1951 - third national park in Britain after Peak District and Lake District). Please check your inbox to complete the sign-up process and ensure you receive emails and offers from us in the future. Now very narrow and lined with snow poles, the climb is so well surfaced it resembles a two-metre-wide carpet. The sign reading 20% as you cross a stream on the beautiful valley road from Talybont-on-Usk is the first hint of the lung-busting effort that awaits you. This gorgeous country road is testing for even the best cyclists, but it provides great views north towards the western Brecon Beacons. Passo Stelvio, Italy. It only takes 1 minute and it's completely free. Click on "Climb Page" to jump to the detail page for that particular bike climb. Where: Heading north out of Cymmer in the Afan Valley. The 5 hardest cycling climbs in the UK (Please link to Pedalsure.com if using elsewhere) Bealach na B Bealach-na-Ba 9.2km at 6.8% (Grid: 1 km) -25% -10% 0% 10% 25% View full details on The closest to an Alpine mountain climb that the UK has to offer is Bealach na B ("Pass of the Cattle" in Scottish Gaelic) on the west coast of Scotland. If the Tumble is the famous and successful son, the Tyla is his awkward, challenging older brother. And Lots of them. Ride two miles gaining 1,329 at 12.5% average grade. Up and up, and then mercifully dipping, or is it just levelling? The climb is tough right away, then gets tougher still as you bend right into what is a small taste of things to come. Over the years, I've sought to climb as many hills as possible. There is also now a Welsh Climbs book 100 greatest cycling climbs is a list of some of the hardest climbs in the UK from Constitution Hill to Kirkstone Pass and Ditchling Beacon. Photograph: Paul White/Alamy, Scotch mist hanging over Bealach na Ba. Gradients of around 30% are generally only found on the inside of tight bends. Constant variations in gradient make finding a rhythm a tough task and there are significant stretches in excess of 10%. This is the story of how he found it and just how painful it is to ride. Once through, you can pick up some speed before the final steep turns and your new-found momentum will help carry you through these and over the top. This is apparent in books published prior to 1951, such as the classic travelogue Wild Wales by George Borrow (1862) and The Mountains of Snowdonia by H. Carr & G. Lister (1925).