NOT TO MISS
When Vincenzo Nibali reconnoitred the route of the men’s road race earlier this summer, he described the final Höttinger Höll climb as being akin to a mountain bike endurance race because it was so hard. At an average 11 per cent gradient with leg-sapping stretches at 28 per cent, the ‘hell’ climb is set to be decisive. The circuit is billed as the toughest since the gruelling 1980 edition in Sallanches that was won by Bernard Hinault and which just 15 riders finished. This year, the men’s 258km race takes in 4,670m of vertical ascent. A lot of that comes from the 7.9km Gnadenwald ascent, which is ridden six times prior to the Höll. However, while the women’s race uses Gnadenwald and contains almost 2,500m of climbing, the decision to omit Höll from the route was widely criticised by riders. Instead they will ride three laps of the Innsbruck circuit minus the starring climb. The men’s and women’s time trial routes are also hilly, though the men’s features Gnadenwald and the women’s doesn’t.