Think this is true
 

I just read this on the Tour De Georgia page.

http://www.tourdegeorgia.com/race-stage5.php

Think the statement is true?

Hmmmmmmm...........hard to believe that one.

Well it is true that it has been compared to Alpe d'Huez but the comparison didn't say much other than here is a profile of Alpe d'Huez and here is the profile of Brasstown Bald.

Well, Brasstown Bald has max grades that are over 20%, whereas the Alp D-Huez maxes out at around 12%. Not sure about the distance of BB (I think ADH is around 8.5 miles) but maybe BB is full of switchbacks like ADH and that's what they meant when they compared it.

As far as I've read there's nothing particularly unique about Alpe D'Huez that would prohibit there being a similarly profiled climb anywhere else... it's what's HAPPENED on Alpe D'Huez that makes it special - and no place in Georgia compares!

lots of mountains get compared to alpe d'huez. out here it's palomar mountain, which is about 11 miles(5200') and has the same number of switchbacks. i think it's a common comparison.

Believe it!!!

Ask Landis, that's where he lost the race last year.

There is a difference between 'compared' and 'comparable'. The former could mean simply that somebody somewhere said, "Wow. This mountain is kind of like the Alpe d'Huez." This does not necesarily denote that they're actually similar, although it can. If the statement was, "The brasstown bald is/was compared to the Alpe d'Huez by Lance Armstrong.", then that would certainly suggest to me that they're similar in some ways. If it said, "The brasstown bald is/was compared to the alpe d'huez by some schmuck on bikeforums.net that has ridden neither", then you may infer that the similarities could simply be that they're two mountain stages in professional bike races. When using the word 'comparable', there's an implicit understanding that the two things being compared are somehow similar. Since they didn't use that word, and instead chose to use the passive voice and no comparative data to back it up, I'll assume that it was just a way for people not familar with the tour de georgia to identify this mountain stage.

Those grades are chicken feed then..............I routinely find 23% to as much as 39 % grades for a few miles at times. Now that being said..............not at any speed however..........I think I avg. about 8-10 mph on those grades.

I thought the ADH was long grades and rigorous.

Perhaps it's a figure of speech being taken too literally. Tha Brasstown Bald may be the "Alpe d'Huez" of the Tour De Georgia. Media schtick, perhaps.

+1 Lance dropped him like a sack of $hit on that climb. Awesome:D

Years ago a rider in my local club went to the Tour. He rode Alpe D'Huez. He was lucky enough to actually have dinner with one of the U.S. riders that evening. When it got mentioned the Pro rider asked if he had done the 4 climbs before le Alpe. When retold to me this did not come across as nasty, jsut conversation. But the point remains, it isn't just the one climb on the day, it is that the best in the world hit it when they are already at the limit when they hit the bottom.

Forget the Alpe D' Huez, and Brasstown Bald.... I can't wait till the Giro and stage 17. In Cycle Sport America (Jan. 2006) There was an interview with Gilberto Simoi, and he was talking about how he previewed the last part of this stage (last 5.5km 24.4% UNPAVES GRAVEL dirt road). For the final kilometer of his scouting ride he switched to his Mt. Bike! This should be an awesome stage to watch, and if the peloton gets bogged down.... expect to see a lot of Pros walking!

you took all of the words right out of my mouth.

Hmm. If the combined weight of you and your bike is 170 pounds and you're doing 8 mph up a 23% grade, you're putting out about 680 watts. At roughly 10 watts/kilogram, that'd make you the strongest cyclist in the world. Or it could be that your numbers are off a little... :)

What calculation ddi you use?

A little java applet:
http://w3.iac.net/~curta/bp/velocity/velocity.html

It's approximate, of course, as all such things are. But it's good for rough numbers. If you want to peek under the hood, the source code is here:
http://w3.iac.net/~curta/bp/velocity/Velocity.java

This calculator gave 750 watts with no tailwind, 170 pounds, and hands on the top.
http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm

Gonna call BS.