Climb Category Classifications
 

I found this article on climb category classifications, but was wondering if anyone might have other, more detailed information on climb categories.


http://www.adcc.asn.au/index.php?opt...=article&id=75

This articles says:

How do the organizers of the Grand Tours evaluate the ratings for the climbs in their races?

The Tour organizers use three criteria:

(1) The length and steepness of the climb
(2) The position of the climb in the stage
(3) The quality of the road surface

General guidelines for classification are as follows:
Hors Category (HC) - the hardest, climbs of 5000ft+(1500m+)
1st Category - climbs of 3500-5000ft (1100-1500m)
2nd Category - climbs of 2000-3500 ft (600-1100m)
3rd Category - climbs of 1000-2000 feet (300-600m).
4th Category - the lowest category, climbs of 300-1000 feet (100-300m).


Although it says that the first consideration is the length and steepness of the climb, the explanation above doesn't really explain the length factor. For example, a climb with300 metres of elevation over 3 km would be an average of a 10% grade (a decent climb - probably a Category 3). But a climb with 300 metres of elevation over 30 km would be an average of a 1% (a barely noticable climb - no category at all).

i think false flats would be obvious. i'd guess a minimum grade of 6-8% for some of the longish climbs.

I would guess something along those lines too ... but I'm also guessing that there are actual standards or qualifications or whatever for each of the categories ... and that's what I'd like to know.

I don't think there are any actual standards. General guidelines and some arbitrary decisions seem to be the order of the day on this one.