Kippure Hill Climb - March 2009

I have been meaning to put a post together for some of the hill climbs I took part in for a long time. Although one of the most suffering intense cycling pursuits, I have a certain love for hill climbs. You versus gravity with little tactics... Being a mountain biker, much of my time is spent riding up and down hills so in training I get lots of practice and like putting that into good use in a race. At about 73kg, I'm not the lightest climber in the world but I think it is one of the things I'm pretty good at on a bike.

Well, this year started off with a very low key climb. Kippure mountain is the highest point in the Wicklow Mountains with a paved road and there is always much discussion on various forums about climbing the final section. It's pretty short and not too steep but weather conditions (it is almost always windy) make it a tricky enough ascent.

A group of mostly road cyclists that congregate on boards.ie (click here for the thread about the climb) formed the attendance on an almost perfect evening with blue skies and amazing visibility.

My profile - power is smoothed

My climb went okay – I was experimenting a little with pacing (easier on the flat sections) and left a little too much in the tank at the end but like everyone who was out, I enjoyed the evening.

The vital statistics
Time: 9:26 (gate to gate)
Distance: 3.3km
Climb: 225m
Average Grade: 6.6

Results for the climb are available here.