Cilician Gates

Cilician Gates cycling climb profile

The Cilician Gates is an 18.7 km category 2 climb in Turkey, rising from 352 m to 1049 m for 697 m of net elevation gain. On paper, the defining feature is not brutality but duration. An average gradient of 3.73% makes it look manageable, but the climb is long enough that poor pacing will still be punished, especially because the maximum gradient reaches 9.39%.

That combination matters. A climb with this length and average gradient usually rewards a steady aerobic approach, but the near-9.39% ceiling means the road is not a pure tempo drag from bottom to summit. The average is low enough that some sections must ease off, but the maximum tells you there are sharper pitches where momentum can disappear quickly if you arrive overgeared or already above threshold.

How the gradient rides

The opening from 352 m should be treated as the start of a long accumulation rather than the place to prove form. With 18.7 km ahead, the key mistake is riding the gentler gradient as if it makes the climb free. At 3.73% average, speed can stay relatively high compared with steeper mountain roads, which often tempts riders into pushing too much power early.

The middle of the climb is where the profile becomes tactically interesting. Because the total rise is 697 m across a long distance, the climb is likely to feel variable: periods where you can settle into rhythm, interrupted by steeper ramps that demand either a controlled lift in power or an easier gear. The 9.39% maximum is the warning sign. Even if those pitches are short, they are steep enough to create repeated spikes if you try to hold speed rather than effort.

Near the summit at 1049 m, the same logic applies. The climb is not defined by one savage wall, but by how long you can keep pressure on the pedals without letting the steeper sections drag you above your sustainable ceiling.

Pacing and gearing notes

Ride the Cilician Gates like a long tempo climb with interruptions, not like a short hill. If you use /glossary/ftp to guide pacing, the safest approach is to stay comfortably below threshold early, keep cadence smooth on the moderate sections, and allow only brief, deliberate increases when the road kicks up.

Gearing should give you enough range to stay seated and controlled on the 9.39% maximum gradient. If your easiest gear forces grinding on that pitch, the climb becomes more expensive than the average gradient suggests. The best setup is not about surviving one ramp - it is about keeping the entire 18.7 km effort even enough that the final kilometers are still ridden with control rather than damage limitation.