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100 greatest cycling climbs of spain. simon warren. vertebrate publishing paperback. 239pp illus. £14.95

100 climbs of spain - simon warren

i could be wrong, but i'd be willing to bet that there are more cyclists inspired by thoughts of emulating robert millar, marco pantani or federico bahamontes, than any of the sport's acknowledged sprinters. we are, by nature, a collection of romantic idealists for whom the mental picture of ascending with speed and panache is most often very much at odds with reality. every sunday morning we ascend the col du rspb at aoradh farm, a steep, but short gradient up which i used to fly. video evidence would surely testify to that doubtful fact.

only one gentleman of my acquaint, ever seemed to consider himself to be the island's finest sprinter, though his current adherence to the e-bike craze may point to there having been endemic problems in the first place. certainly, it's the climbs that often attract the largest crowds in any given race; witness those lining the roadsides on the cobbled bergs in sunday's tour of flanders, framed by marquees and refreshments tables for those awaiting the next ascent. couple that with the sound knowledge that the average sporting velocipedinist can't, in fact, climb very well, and you have the perfect conundrum that has featured as the backdrop to the career of obsessive climbing documenter, simon warren.

100 climbs of spain - simon warren

to date, the fellow has climbed the tour de france, britain, the giro, the cobbled gradients of belgium, the hills of wales, scotland and various parts of england, and has now turned his attentions to spain, including those of mallorca and the canary islands. my extremely limited geographical knowledge is constantly surprised that there as many as 100 climbable hills/mountains in any country other than the himalayas, while my distinct lack of any sense of adventure effectively keeps my campagnolo wheels and challenge tyres dissatisfyingly close to sea-level. however, as i have mentioned on many an occasion, a guy can dream can't he?

those of us who regularly witness each year's vuelta espana, will by now have learned that it's a country in possession of some seriously steep and tall mountains, discovery of which seem to have become a serial obsession of the race organisers. as if the angliru were scarcely enough. for most of us, that particular climb will always be more than enough, and for that particular reason, mr warren has provided a comprehensive mini-chapter describing his own experiences on the angliru. but consider this; his first attempt failed when equipped with a 39x27 gear combination. four years later, attempting the zoncolan, he "...came armed with a more sensible lowest gear of 34x28. would it be enough." (i recommend purchasing a copy to find out).

100 climbs of spain - simon warren

for the 'lesser' climbs featured in the book, there are still a scary number with double-digit gradients in excess of 20% - alto de la camperona, la bola del mundo, ermita de alba, to name but a few, the latter topping out at a frightening 30%. in his introduction, simon warren details the process by which he rode all of the climbs contained within, a narrative that is arduous enough in its own right before moving on to each specific climb.

"What adventures, what roads [...] I hope this book helps you plan your trips and hope you find these amazing roads as breathtaking as I did."

assuming that is precisely what you intend to undertake, the documentation is impressively concise and explanatory, commencing with a full-page illustration topped by simon's marks out of ten. beneath a comprehensive text description is not only a simple location map and route map, but a profile highlighting the position of the climb's maximum gradient. these are accompanied by brief directions, altitudes, along with average and maximum gradients. any more and there's a distinct possibility we'd conclude that we're made of less stern stuff than the author and quickly turn the page.

i have, in my possession, almost all of the 100 climbs series, and i hope you will not think the less of me when i tell you that, despite the safe assumption that i will probably never ride any of them, i have a frequent habit of pulling one or other from the bookshelf to revel in someone else's pain and suffering on the mountains. granted, it's not a tangible substitute, but i've always got the col du rspb to fall back on.

grimpeur or dreamer, this is great.

100 greatest cycling climbs of spain is published by vertebrate publishing on thursday 6 april.

tuesday 4 april 2023

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................