Maybe. I know a couple guys with both Bacchetta high-racers and road bikes, and they're not really worse on climbs on their 'bents than on their road bikes. They're slightly slower if a hill just shoots up in an unceasing steep gradient, but occasionally faster on the 'bent if a hill is really shallow or has dips on the way to the top. And I don't see why this shouldn't be the case: aside from sprint bursts, they can put out about as much power on the recumbents as on the road bikes, and the recumbents are only slightly heavier.

I think the biggest reason that people think recumbents are horrible climbers is that folks underestimate how aero an aggressive 'bent fit is. Neither the 'bent nor the roadies realize that the guy on the 'bent is far weaker than the roadies that he's keeping up with, so when the 'bent gets dropped on the hill, everyone assumes that the bike was the main issue.