The Strava Kings and Queens of Cycling’s Iconic Mountain Climbs
With the Giro d’Italia already kicking off the Grand Tour season and the Giro Donne, Tour de France, and Tour de France Femmes not far behind, all eyes are turning to the mountains.
Yes, the Classics and Monuments provide thrilling, fast-paced action, but by this point in the spring, we’re craving long climbs to summit finishes. Who can forget the epic battle up the Col du Tourmalet between Kasia Niewiadoma, Demi Vollering, and Annemieke van Vleuten on 2023’s Tour de France Femmes?
This is why we wanted to dive into the data to see who the current Strava Queen and King of the Mountain (QOMs and KOMs) owners are for some of the biggest climbs on this year’s routes—and the results may surprise you!
Shockingly, not every climb is claimed by a rider like Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel, or Demi Vollering. This is because, often in races, the peloton approaches climbs with caution and tired legs from already having put in many miles, often several days’ worth, before these challenging climbs. That’s why quite a few KOMs and QOMs have been snatched during training rides when riders are able to focus their efforts entirely on a single climb rather than thinking about the finish line.
Tour de France: Col du Tourmalet
KOM: Thibaut Pinot QOM: Illi Gardner
Featured on Stage 14 of this year’s Tour, the Col du Tourmalet climb is a classic for a reason: At 11.70 miles long, it climbs 4,350 feet with an average seven percent grade. The Hors Categorie or “beyond categorization” ascent is one of the most challenging, with riders facing 17.1 km with an average gradient of 7.3 percent. The second half of the ascent is the toughest, with several kilometers of pitches hovering between 9 and 10 percent.
On Strava, over 75,000 rides have been logged on the iconic climb. It’s no surprise that the KOM holder is Thibault Pinot, the recently retired pro who rode for FDJ for over a decade. But the women’s record holder may shock you: It’s not Vollering, it’s Illi Gardner, a 24-year-old Brit who specializes in climbing. She secured the QOM last summer in June.
Tour de France Femmes: L’Alpe d’Huez
KOM: Sepp Kuss QOM: Illi Gardner
Stage 8 of this year’s Tour de France Femmes will take riders over the hardest side of the Col du Glandon (a high mountain pass in the Dauphiné Alps), followed by a summit finish on one of the most famous ascents in cycling: Alpe d’Huez. The climb is known for its 21 hairpin bends, each named in honor of a rider who has won the race to the summit.
As for the record holders... Americans, rejoice: Coloradan Sepp Kuss owns the KOM on the famed climb, a brutal 8.64-mile climb that gains 3,613 feet with a nearly eight percent average grade. Kuss secured this KOM on a blistering hot Tour stage in 2022—the recorded temperature was 91 degrees! For women, Gardner clearly loves snagging QOMs on classic routes and owns this one as well as the Tourmalet.
Giro d’Italia: Passo dello Stelvio
KOM: Mattia Gaffuri QOM: Emmie Collinge
You can’t sleep on the Stelvio, one of the most narrow, mild, terrifying/intimidating climbs in the Giro d’Italia. Following a rest day, Stage 16 opens the third week of the stage race with a trip over the Stelvio, a 9,049 ft pass that’s by far the highest in this year’s race. The 12.11-mile climb has an average gradient of 7.5 percent and soul-crushing switchbacks for days.
The current KOM holder is Matt Gaffuri, who snared it last summer. For the women, Italian runner (seriously) Emmie Collinge has owned this segment since 2017—the highest up pro in the rankings is Gaia Realini of Lidl-Trek, whose time was 10 minutes slower than Collinge on race day in 2023.
Tour de France: Col du Galibier
KOM: Romain Bardet QOM: Erika Magnaldi
First used in the Tour de France in 1911, the Col du Galibier is slightly less steep, with a “mere” 6.9 percent average grade, and the last kilometer going up to 9 percent before the descent. The climb will appear in Stage 4 of this year’s Tour de France, a hilly stage that travels from Pinerolo to the French Alps.
UAE Team ADQ’s Erica Magnaldi has the QOM, secured back in 2020 during a pandemic training ride. On the men’s side, Team dsm’s Romain Bardet secured the KOM in the 2022 iteration of the Tour de France.
Tour de France: Puy Mary (Pas de Peyrol)
KOM: Tadej Pogačar QOM: Private
The Puy Mary is the name of the mountain—an extinct volcano—with puy meaning ‘peak.’ Pas de Peyrol (“Peyrol step”) is the pass where the road is. This 5.7-mile ascent is located in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, and has an average gradient of 6.9 percent and a total elevation gain of 2,062 ft. Since 2011, the Pas de Peyrol has been featured ten times in the Tour de France, but a stage never finished atop its summit until 2020.
We had to find one climb that was owned by Tadej Pogačar! The Slovenian snared this KOM on a September training ride in 2020.
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