Monte Zoncolan. Along with the Angliru and the Mortirolo, it is considered one of the three most challenging climbs in pro bike racing. From Ovaro, its hardest side, the ascent is 10km long at a brutal average gradient of almost 12%!! But is this mountain pro cycling’s toughest climb? Ollie and Alan from @gcnitalia took it on to find out.
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What’s the toughest climb you’ve ever ridden up? 🏔
The Azami line on Mt. Fuji. Brutal.
I think Susa-Moncenisio in Italy by the French border. About 900m climb in 16km. Though some smaller climbs with bike-packing stuff might have felt harder.
La Planche Des Belles Filles last Monday 😅
I'm not sure, either a 27k ascent in the Pyrenees years ago or a 600 meter ramp averaging over 15 percent 3 weeks ago. I'll go with the ramp because the latter was 5 minutes out of the saddle close to 300 watts in agony vs. constant pedalling way below my red zone. So, gradients way over 10 percent clearly beat any length of ascent ... 😁
The hills in my street
Fascinating to see the difference between a fit amateur and an ex-pro. Despite Ollie being clearly the better climber on the lower slopes, Alan knew how to sprint for the win. Mega kudos to Alan for absolutely emptying the tank at the end.
Ollie has no power or burst. He is one of those skinny guys who can go on for days but couldnt break 1000 watts.
@@2011hwalker Ollie could have dropped Alan prior to the halfway mark but for the purposes of the video he waited for him. Also note that Alan is entirely spent at the finish wheras Ollie can talk normally. Don't be fooled by who finished "first".
@@patrickblanton6650 While Ollie seems to be in better shape, it comes as no surprise that you're out of breath when you go all out for a minute or two while Ollie stayed out of the red zone. If Ollie had followed him (or any other cyclist for that matter), he would have been out of breath as well...
Think Ollie might have gone easy on that last section. He wasn't dead at the end whereas Alan was absolutely shot.
Nothing like a bit of friendly competition🙌
Love that Alan is riding half the climb one handed to give the Italian hand gestures. 🤌
I'm an Aussie but there's an Italian great grandfather on my Dad's side. My Mum used to say when i was a kid, 'You can tell you've got Italian in there. If we cut your hands off you'd be unable to speak." 🙂
🤌🤌🤌
Ollie is a beast!! So awesome seeing him smashing such a tough climb like it was nothing.
Not sure Ollie would agree with is feeling like nothing 😂
There's a reason the climb is called Zoncalan...but we know the man is humble.
How is Ollie able to talk while riding on such steep gradients? That's crazy!
Are you saying he could have ridden harder? 😂
@@gcn perhaps that is something for a new kom project!
Well, he's still talking fluently. So must be Zone 2 for Ollie!
Gotta love the Italian dude! Talking with his hands while paperboying (and at times side by side with Ollie) up one of the world’s hardest climbs. Epic!
Holy crap...doing that while talking?? Ollie and Alan are monsters ! That was very cool , thank you to all involved ! Is Alan the man that took Ollie to his Mom's for dinner ? He's a character !
yep. the quest for cappelletti 😂
@@oliverbridgewood3929 Thank you , Dr O
That is the very same Alan 🙌 They both smashed this climb! What mountain should they tackle next?
@@gcn The White Mountains in New Hampshire USA
Defo blockhaus and colle delle finestre
Don't forget Alan also did the Zonc on a 'graziella' bike: kzhead.info/sun/lspuabCbgmepkoU/bejne.html
Love Alan giving his all to cross the line bent over high bars and Ollie coming up not far behind " you alright Mate"
Ollie pretending that he wasn't racing 😂
From Dropper to... Dropped once again! Great to see this international friendship blossom between Ollie & Alan. Impressed by how they managed to keep speaking whilst riding the steepest gradients! #WattageBazooka
These two are a great duo 🙌 Did you catch there epic Italian ride 👉kzhead.info/sun/h8iMd9GDip6ZhnA/bejne.html
Talking whilst ascending the Zoncolan... in a second language! Chapeau!
coming from an at best hilly region - three of the first five true mountains I ever rode included: #2 - Monte Zoncolan di Ovario [ 1:25:44 ] - #4 Passo Mortirolo [ 1:41:17 ] and #5 Alto l'Angliru [1:35:09 ] - #2 - I found the Zoncolan scenery to be sheltered and dull until you reach the summit - this climb is a world-o-pain - MOST of the climb feels like it is permanently stuck in the 15-20% gradient because it is - with some short spikes up into the 20-23% range just to keep you honest - when you hit 10% you literally feel like you are riding on flat ground - never has 10% felt soooo good but it is a cruel respite because almost immediately after that you hit the short sharp spikes and then settle back into the normal 15-20% range for KM after KM - so you come to almost dread the 10% sections that last for maybe 50m - after the tunnel if you think your pain is over you are wrong - the pain truly does not stop until you summit - of ALL the mountains I have ridden this is one that honestly makes you hesitant to return to - I have done it once - it is PAINFUL and that pain is sustained over almost all of the climb - to say it is relentless is insufficient to describe it - it is a climb that will actually make you question why you ever chose to ride it - for me it is the worst of the three - #4 - Passo Mortirolo is another 1.445 km longer than Zoncolan and in the same category of PAIN - the ONLY difference between the two is that there are sprinkled more sections of respite here where you can briefly recover - you CANNOT recover on Zoncolan - it is constant PAIN all the way up - but otherwise Mortirolo is an epic beast - if I had to rank it I would say Zoncolan is 1a and Mortirolo is 1b - not for the feint of heart - it is a brute - nasty - painful - I have climbed it once and not overly eager to go back #5 - Angliru - I was disappointed in the Angliru given its fearsome reputation - that is until I rode the final 1/3 section - NO other mountain can compare to what Angliru dishes out that last 1/3 - other mountains boast of +20% gradient spikes - Angliru misread the script and created extended stretches over +20% - one after the other after the other - just when you think you are over it - it rears up again - and again ... and again - almost bringing you to a standstill with your full body weight driving down the pedal - you feel like you will stop or are permanently suspended in time and space somehow not falling over - it is HORRIBLE - if Zoncolan is a slow gentle squeezing of every ounce of energy in your body over an extended period - Angliru is a hammer blow - all I can say is SAVE your energy on the first 2/3 sections because you will need everything you have to survive the final 1/3 - the worst thing you can do on Angliru is blitz the first 2/3 - you will DIE on that last 1/3 of HELL - it is too hard to describe in words and can only be appreciated when it is ridden = so I SURVIVED all of these MONSTER EPIC CLIMBS - barely - now try racing up them ?
alan is awesome. great sense of humor and i love how heart-on-sleeve he is.
❤thanks
Oli is in the form of his life......I'm amazed how the shame of being dropped in everything in little over 2 years ago has spurred Oli on to train hard and become the no.1 rider at GCN. From ridicule to respect, from mank to machine ......kudos!
I never doubted Ollie for one minute! I always knew he was the best because he has the hair of a champion
Hahahah Ollie is flying these days 🙌 It wasn't an easy route getting here 👉kzhead.info/sun/gaiSaJGkmnd_e4E/bejne.html
Mt. Washington in New Hampshire has been used in pro races as a finishing climb and @12% average for 8 miles with 1/3 of that being gravel/dirt, it's the hardest climb i the world (per J. Longo) especially when factoring in weather conditions (often 40+ mph wind above tree-line i.e. for last 4miles) with finish being @ 6,200 elevation).
Props to the cameraman cycling up the climb one-handed, staying ahead of Ollie and Alan while simultaneously keeping them perfectly in frame. Impressive.
Have you ever thought he might be on a motorbike? ;)
@@tsops22have you ever thought that you might have missed the joke? 😬
@@frenzy8539 probably that’s why I am winking ;)
The camera motorbike is actually shown briefly on the drone footage at 12:14.
LOVED THIS. Well done 🙌🏻
Alan is a great! More crossovers please!
Did you catch Alan and Ollie riding over Italy? 👉kzhead.info/sun/h8iMd9GDip6ZhnA/bejne.html
@@gcn somehow, I missed it! Thanks! Off to watch
You are an inspiration Ollie. Loved the video. My hardest climb would be a local 6klm climb with an average of 7%. Not exactly "hard" but after not riding for 10 years it was a massive mental breakthrough
Super cool to hear that you've smashed that local climb 🙌 Are you looking to push the distance and tackle some bigger climbs?
@Global Cycling Network oh for sure. It's taken a while but I'm finally back riding long distances and long climbs. Just need to get faster at it now.
Try please Monte Lussari which will be last climb in this Giro edition. And for me (from the famous climbs which I ridden) was probably the hardest passo Fedaia because I am heavy cyclist and that last part was brutal. Stelvio is really long and heavy but not so brutal gradiants. I think Zoncolan is too much for my fitness and my kilograms :D
Way to go, Ollie! 🥳 Love Alan too, there is something so pure about the way he rides that always makes me smile. Well done, lads, what a climb. Hope the wine made up for the sore legs. 🥂
Inspiring, thank you!
Great video. Impressive out of saddle climbing by Ollie! 👏💪
Love these Ollie climbing videos. He is our resident mountain goat now. Well done!! Good to see Alan on this too for a different perspective.
Maranga sempre al top!
Ok Guys …what a nice vid !! I really enjoyed it. Well …you are invited to my country Colombia to climb the longest mountain ports …”El alto de Letras” (80.7 km) and the “Crucero” …More than 90 km climbing trough beautiful landscapes and mountain, all the thermal floors…well almost all. It’s for sure a wild and savage challenge. You can consider this experience in the future !!
What an awesome effort! Alan did 3 times the distance with his zig zagging! Ollie what a monster you are! Not even out of breath crossing the line!
Gilberto Simoni’s time - amazing though it is - highlights the uneasy relationship that cycling has with records from that era. Saunier Duval, his team, were essentially shut down because of doping violations; does anyone really think Gilberto’s red blood cells were all his own when he won that stage?
They probably were his own. But had they been taken out whilst he was fresh and then re-injected when depleted?
All pros during that era were strongly on epo or cera, otherwise they woudn't be capable to stay in the peloton
@@mikestunt77 I don’t doubt that’s true, hence why I don’t get particularly concerned about who won a given race back then - but it’s surely relevant in terms of whether we marvel at the likes of Simoni now? Saying "they were all at it" doesn’t change the fact that many of the speed records up many of these mountains (see also Pantani up Alpe d’Huez and the Mortirolo) were set by people who were cheating when they set them, and thus shouldn’t be celebrated as amazing feats.
Nobody cares about doping because it produced the best racing, there’ll be some form of doping in this weeks giro also guaranteed, they cannot repeat these super human efforts every day on bananas 🤣
No pro is free of Peds
The fact you can talk and explain the hill whilst doing it is INSANE!!!!! You're a machine Ollie. A machine!!!
Ollie's barely out of breath, he's conversing fine the whole way. I think he's now officially too fit for GCN and needs to be confined to the office and fed donuts.
😂 agree
Love how Alan gets to the top and is half passed-out from his effort, Ollie gets there and puffs out his checks, pats Alan on the back and grabs out his rain jacket like "well that was a nice Sunday ride...!"
Awesome! Best part about Zoncolan is seeing Pantani, knowing that the road flattens out to a mere 8% 😃 Also from Ovaro, just across the main road to the west, there is Stentaria or Passo della Forcella, the 3th or 4th hardest climb in Europe. The easiest segment on this is equal to the hardest part of Zoncolan, but the last 500m are at about 28-30%. IMO, Stentaria is more beautiful than Zoncolan, and a good fun to descent (if you figure out how to do it on the bike, lowering your saddle post is useful).
That was awesome. "Are you sure? Now I give you the action!" He emptied his tank and finished first, but Ollie was looked damn near fresh at completion. And to other commenters saying "Ollie couldn't break 1000W", we're all built different and have strengths in different areas. I can't come close to 1000W, but I'm always one of the first to crest the hills.😁
Awesome video, tankx
Great to watch thje two of you tackling the King Zoncolan! Next time Ollie should do it with a Graziella bike, like Alan already did! for 100k subscribers to @gcnitalia!
ollie has become a serious climbing stud. chapeau!
wow, that was great! I can't imagine trying a climb like that. Bravo!! Here in Sonoma County ( about 60 miles north of San Francisco) there are a bunch of great climbing opportunities. Skyfarm Drive is a short, one mile climb that averages 8.5% with the steepest part averaging around 17%. I always have a hard time with it.
Col de la loze in France is also terrific (the walls at 20/23% at more than 2000 m elevation). Most difficult in France by far.
The Pantani shot was a nice touch. RIP.
Loved this video format, would be great to see it for other climbs too. Perhaps Monte Lussari could be next?
It is quiet close to zoncolan as well
80km or so. It depends whether or not they got permission to film on the road. They were still working on it ahead of the Giro. Snow melted late this year. I hope they had a chance. Otherwise come back & do. Looks spectacularly sublime.
An interesting fact: Simoni rode Zoncolan in 2007 with VAM of 1850 metres which is a crazy value. My guess, most of the amateur riders would have VAM way way below 1000 m even with fresh legs.
My only European rides were in Bavaria, Czechia and Austria. The first big climb I remember doing was up the Watzmann. I also recall a shorter climb near Passau with 25% section. The hardest climb I did was the Furkajoch in Vorarlberg, Austria. I rode from Bregenz to Damüls and back. I did the climb in early July, and there was still snow on the sides of the road in Damüls.
I'm riding it in September. Cannot wait
Great video! I would love for you to do a video about the Mauna Kea Climb in Hawaii. It is 42.5 miles long with an average gradient of 6.1% and 10 miles of more that 10% gradient. You go from sea level to 13,755 feet above sea level. Perhaps some day?
Nice work edit team.❤
I absolutely love a tough climb. Genuinely. Might not get up there the fastest but I will not quit!
Love a good GCN climbing video. Who do we need to talk to about getting the crew out to Mauna Kea?
The most delightful way to challenge... wild Mother Earth and pushing beyond the human limits, cycling races are so good to show us, we can be better kind of people, cycling riders seems to hold super human powers indeed, it's a great feeling..if you have any doubt about it
Monty Zonkolan, bloody cracking bloke
Impressive climbing hill, gorgeous alpine scenery, fun cameraderie, and an ever so slightly annoyed looking Ollie having been beaten by local lad Alan at the finish. 😄 Thanks guys!
Their power is insane I wish I can do that this video deserve a like for sure
old heavy rider here... i do some 10-11 percent grades for 50-200 meters and it darn near kills me (30/28 )... you have to be super tough to ride that!!! bravo
Even in my younger days I wouldn’t have made it up there. Well done Ollie and Alan. As for racing on any of those mountains………pro riders are a different breed!
Ho fatto il zoncolan ed crostis in 2014, salita indimenticabile, molta sofferenza ma pura satisfazione.
Bravi! 🚴🚴
Amazing Ollie and Alan huge respect guys what a climb awesome.. you must have had a mega breakfast for this one well done.. chapeau 🚴🏻😃👍
You should come out to Mt Washington for the hill climb some year. 7.3 miles at 12% average.
Bravo, Ollie!
@alan potevi dire ad Ollie che oltre alle volte al Giro hai fatto lo Zoncolan anche con la graziella ! Voglio vedere lui con la graziella li su ! / I wished Alan could have told Ollie that he also climbed Zoncolan with a "Graziella" which is an old fashoion and iconic bike in Italy similar to a brompton without gears.
Grande Maranga che sputa pure l'anima
Monte Zoncolan sounds like a TV game show host here in the States. "And now, your host for Let's Make a Deal in the Peloton, Monte Zoncolan!" And the studio audience goes wild. 😀
It would be nice to see you do Red Bull Gony Pony 2023, od maybe climb to Sv.Jure, Croatia
What a climb and setting. Angliru is the hardest climb I’ve gone up.
I climbed 3 times Zoncolan and I live 70km far from the Start, love to see my region in this video. Mandi from Friuli!
All 3 sides in a day? Or 3 separate occasions? “70km away from the start” 🤗 Yeah, it’s great they came & did a video. Shame about the weather. In sunshine the view is spectacular 👍
@@nodders1 no 3 different days
Mount fidelity, near Revelstoke British Columbia, 1000m in 5 km's.
Been up there, two years ago! Probably the hardest climb i ever did! For one simple reason, it never stops beeing steep! Even in the hairpins its the full 13 %
What a beast Ollie has become, he chew these climbs like it's nothing!
Grande Maranga!!!!
Monte Lussari. Last TT of Giro d'Italia
Epico!
What was your gear setup?
Alan really pushed himself on that sprint. Great
brilliant guys...damn hard climb..... imagine having to race up it on top of battling the mental race going on in your head,
We can't even imagine it - just imagining climbing it in general is tiring enough! 🥱
Ollie sitting in Zone 2. Blows my mind.
Ollie became a hill climbing beast, brutal
What gears did you use for this climb?
Welcome to Friûl Ollie! Hope you had a great time, weather apart 😅
it's incredible how you are able to have a friendly conversation...
You should have gone for the Monte Crostis while you were there. Now that's proper feisty
Brilliant episode. No surprise when GCN's international power couple get together.
These two are a great duo 🙌
I noticed Ollie looked pretty fresh and climbed out of the saddle. Now I know he is 5watts/kg and could ride as Domestique in the tour de france but I am wondering if he specifically did out of the saddle training? I am looking to doing Zoncolan in September aged 60 and out of the saddle maybe my only option at 20% because of front wheel lifting. Don’t know if Ollie reads these comments but Ollie did you do specific out of the saddle training???
Hye…should i buy shimano dura ace r9100 mechanical or shimano ultegra r8050 di2…both are rim brake …wich one is the best for me to use for race?
12:30 strangely the Frenchman even sounds French when catching his breath!! 😂😂 garlic bread 🤜🏻💥🤛🏻
Just watching them climb this is cramping up my legs.
8:01 what it actually says is that bikes have too hard gearing for the market. If the pros need gears like 1-1 for climbs like this one, average Joe and Jane need easier gearing for average mountains.
Exactly right mate! I say the same thing! The gearing is way to hard in general, for the market. For what reason?? Not many in the world can even use the normal combination of gears for most uphills. For my Grand Fondo bike, I had to fit 46/30 chain rings with 11-34 cassette. It's magic uphill, and can still manage 80kmh downhill. No stock road bike comes out, with even anything close to this combination.
What gear combo do these guys even ride with, in the video?
@@wernerswesternwonders472 I like to blame the UCI rule that all parts used by pros must be available on the market. Imagine the FIA having the same rule so rich people can buy F1, WRC, WEC technology. I understand the reasons for such a rule, but the collateral effect is that it seems that non professional specifications aren't worthy. Fortunately, this is changing, but in most cases it still costs additional money because bikes come from factory with racing setups.
Some of those gradients looked brutal.
Do you guys film on on ebike in front?
11:53 Ahh!! Getting a very nostalgic flashback to very different times when Ollie used to get dropped! Thank you Alan for this moment!
A discussion about steep climbs without mentioning gearing is not really complete. I missed it somehow in the video. What gearing have you used? I know guys climbing Zoncolan from Ovaro on MTB with gearing 28x51 giving almost 1:2, what is much less challenging than e.g. Contador climbing with 36x32 in 2011.
8:00
Ollie couldn't drop Alan... It's a kind of respect he has after have eaten "cappelletti" at Alan's Home. You can't forget 🍝
😂👍🏻
Ollie you are the Goat
I would need a subcompact double(46/30t) to do this climb on bike that light. On my own personal bike Sram 11-36t cassette with the sub compact on a touring bike with Rene Herse Antelope Hill(29x2.2 slick).
Sounds like a great bike! Those spinny gears would help on a climb like this 👀
@@gcn My wife & I may look pro, but we sure do cruise up the mountain slow.
Ollie is the local legend for this climb.
I tought you are gonna ride up to monte lussari
He also climbed it on a folding bike for GCN Italia
will we have a descent video from you both!!!!
I would be riding up in the broom wagon.
Zoncolan fro Ovaro is absolutely a classic here in Friuli Venezia Giulia!🇮🇹 I have ridden another side with the mountain bike, from Villa Santina: kzhead.info/sun/jKuOZLasjIGvqnk/bejne.html
So what was the AD?
I did a 4% climb on my way to work today panting like a fool. Ollie and Alan doing 15% and still talking to the camera.