City Hill Climb Salzburg Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

The Jedermann City Hill Climb on the road bike is short, brutal and decided in a matter of minutes. From Kapitelplatz in Salzburg's old town the route climbs barely 800 metres up the cobbled Festungsgasse to Hohensalzburg Fortress, which serves as both finish and backdrop.

Over this short distance you gather around 100 to 120 metres of climbing. The gradient is unrelenting: after a flat opening the ramp kicks up sharply and stays steep all the way to the line. More than 40 percent of the course is classed as steep uphill, with short pitches reaching into the double digits and far beyond at the harshest points. There is no respite, and the pace sits at the limit from the first pedal stroke to the last.

The event is run as elimination heats: the faster riders advance through successive rounds, giving the race a tournament character. The rough cobbles and the very low speed on the extremely steep final section demand careful traction control and steady nerves. The race is open to professionals and ambitious hobby riders alike.

Pacing Strategy

At just 900 metres this is a full-gas effort, not a race to ration – you ride near maximum from the start. The trap is the first 200 metres: go completely over the top at once and you go anaerobic early and lose time higher up.

Start strong but controlled, just under the absolute maximum, and find a hard, even stroke. The ramp steepens toward the top – the final 150 metres or so are by far the steepest. That is exactly where the time is decided: keep a reserve to lift once more on the steepest pitch rather than collapse. Pick a gear beforehand that still turns over at a low cadence on the steepest point, and stay seated as long as grip allows to put power down evenly. Starting too fast is the only real mistake here.

12-Week Preparation

This is a maximal effort lasting roughly two to four minutes, repeated across several heats on the same day. Forget endurance: the demand here is explosive power, very high torque at low cadence, and the ability to deliver that same effort again after a short recovery.

The whole climb sits above your sustainable threshold. With more than 40 percent of the course classed as steep uphill and pitches reaching well into the double digits, you spend almost the entire ramp in the anaerobic zone, fighting gravity from the first pedal stroke. The cobbled Festungsgasse adds a second problem: at very low speed on an extreme gradient, traction and balance matter as much as power, so the surface itself can cost you the heat.

Build your preparation around short, all-out efforts. Practise repeated two- to three-minute maximal climbs on the steepest gradient you can find, with full recovery between reps, to train both peak power and its repeatability across rounds. Add low-cadence, high-torque strength work, seated and standing, to handle the steep pitches without spinning out or stalling. Standing-start and short sprint efforts sharpen the explosive opening you need off the line.

Rehearse on rough or cobbled surfaces if you can: learn how much you can push before the rear wheel slips, and where to shift your weight to keep traction on the steepest, slowest section near the fortress. Finally, simulate the knockout structure with multiple hard efforts in one session so the third or fourth heat does not catch you cold.