Zürich-Bern-Zürich     

Zurich-Bern-Zurich is quite possibly the hardest and most prestigious of all classics. The 224km route contains more than 4,500m of climbing in total and finishes on a climb so horrific that most riders finish in tears or in a team car. Even some of the winners spend the night in hospital following their heroic feat.

The race starts out in central Zurich. The towns inhabitants crowd around the lakeside as the riders ...

Read more

Zurich-Bern-Zurich is quite possibly the hardest and most prestigious of all classics. The 224km route contains more than 4,500m of climbing in total and finishes on a climb so horrific that most riders finish in tears or in a team car. Even some of the winners spend the night in hospital following their heroic feat.

The race starts out in central Zurich. The towns inhabitants crowd around the lakeside as the riders role out. Their first target is the small town of the riders will then tackle the longest and quite possibly the hardest climb of the day up to Zug followed by Luzern. The climbing does not start until after Luzern but breakaways will attempt to form in order to get an advantage over the rest of the peloton.

The first climb is not particularly tough. At an average gradient of just 6% it features a few ramps of just under 10%. The descent is not very long and is on easy wide roads. As soon as they are back onto the flat, the climbing starts again. Although this climb, on paper at least, is very easy, the first casualties of the day will begin to appear at the back of the race. At 22km long, it is among the longer climbs but it has a long sections of very shallow gradient followed by several ramps of up to 8%. The summit signals the arrival of the race into the canton of Bern. The descent off the Glaubenbuhl Pass is the trickiest that will feature all day. The narrow twisty roads could cause serious injury if not navigated correctly.

As soon as they are down, the cyclists turn right and climb again. This time a 7km, 6.1% average gradient climb up through Lungern and over the Brunig Pass.

The riders will then tackle the longest and arguable the hardest climb of the day. The average gradient is just 5.8% but the climb up to the top of the Susten Pass is 28km long and takes the riders to over 2,180m. The favourites may become isolated on this long climb and the breakaway will have almost certainly disintegrated.The descent off of the climb is nice and easy. Once over this, the riders are into the finishing straight of their mammoth ride.

They will race through Altdorf and Schwyz before having to climb again. This time the climb has an average gradient of 5% and a length of 8km. For slightly slower climbers still clinging on to the main group or the strongest man in the breakaway, this climb can be used as a launchpad for an attack. The easy descent down to the bottom of the final climb can be used for some rest.

The final climb is remarkably short. It is just 3.1 km long but its average gradient of 11.5% tells you all you need to know. Ramps of up to 26% will destroy the legs of all the riders and bring many to a complete standstill. The sudden viciousness of this climb makes for fascinating viewing. The finishing line at Richterswil will be packed with crowds of supporters.

To win overlooking Zurich and her lake is one of the highest honours for a climber. It is the mountains response to the hell of the north. A rebuke to all those who claim to have conquered the mountains. Its brutal, but in a fascinating way, its also beautiful.