Climbing Categories.

Plagiarized from the interwebz.


* Cat. 4: The Lowest category could be anything from a 2km-long hill with a gentle 5-percent grade, or a half-kilometer-long "wall" with a 12-percent average. (In 1997, there were 15 Cat. 4 climbs on the opening eight flat stages; and only four on the remaining 13 stages.)


ElJamoquio note: a Category 4 climb would be like Thorn Run Road in Pennsylvania, or Boyne "Mountain" in Michigan.



* Cat. 3: This is the first "serious" category, and could mean a 5km climb with 5-percent grade on good roads. (In 1997, there were six Cat. 3 climbs in the Tour; typical was the Cote de Chatillon on the stage to Morzine, which is 6km long with a height difference of 240 meters, 787 feet, on a wide smooth highway.)

* Cat. 2: Most racers in North America would consider this one the toughest climb they would be likely to encounter. The former Tour DuPont's Beech Mountain -- which is about 5km long with an average grade of 8-percent, topping out at 5000 feet about sea level -- would be a Cat. 2 at the Tour, even though it was a Cat. 1 at DuPont. (In the 1997 Tour de France there were 10 Cat. 2 climbs. Typical were the first two of stage 18: the Cote de Gueberschwir is 4.5km long, has a height difference of 400 meters, 1312 feet, and an 8.8-percent grade; the Grand Gallon is 24km long, with a height difference of 1000 meters, 3280 feet, but has a grade of only 4.1 percent.)

* Cat. 1: This is the classic mountain climb of the Tour, such as the Col d'Aubisque in the Pyrenees, with an elevation of about 1600 meters, 5250 feet, a length of about 15km, and a grade of about 6-percent. (In 1997, the Tour had eight Cat. 1 climbs. They varied from stage 9's Val Louron-Azet, which is 11.5km long, with a height difference of 770 meters, 2526 feet, on a narrow, rough back road; to stage 10's Port d'Envalira, which is 30km long, with a height difference of 1680 meters, 5500 feet, on a wide, smooth highway with easy grades.)

* Hors Cat. (or "above category"): These are the most difficult climbs at the Tour. They have a minimum height difference of 1000 meters, 3280 feet, and an average grade of 7-percent or more. (There were five Hors Cat. climbs in the 1997 Tour, including the Col du Tourmalet and L'Alpe d' Huez.)