Col de Catchaudégué

Overview

The Col de Catchaudégué is a Category 3 climb in France, running 9.3 km from a start elevation of 484 m to a summit at 892 m. On paper it is a modest ascent: the net elevation gain is 408 m, and the average gradient of 4.37% suggests a steady, unremarkable grind that most fit riders could tap out without much drama.

The profile tells a different story. While the net gain is 408 m, the total ascent is 538 m — a 130 m mismatch. That extra vertical means the road does not climb cleanly; it rises, dips, and climbs again. Every metre you give back on a descent has to be re-earned, and the undulation blunts the rhythm that a constant gradient would let you settle into. Expect the effort to feel harder than the average number implies.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The 4.37% average is a blend, not a reality you will ever ride for long. With a maximum gradient of 12.86%, the steep pitches are nearly three times the average, and they are offset by flatter or downhill sections that drag the mean down.

• Flatter and recovery sections where the road eases or dips, giving back some of the 130 m of undulation
• Repeated short climbs rather than one continuous wall — the grade resets more than once
• A steepest ramp at 12.86% that will spike your effort well above threshold if you meet it in the wrong gear

Pacing Notes

On a clean, even climb you can hold near-constant power. Catchaudégué is not that climb. Because the grade constantly changes, chasing even speed here forces you to surge on every steep pitch and coast on every flat, spiking your effort past your sustainable power output and draining you before the summit.

Pace to power instead. Hold a steady, sustainable output through the steep ramps — accepting that your speed drops — and use the flatter and downhill sections to recover rather than to attack. If you do not know your ceiling, run the FTP estimator first, then set a target you can defend across all 9.3 km.

Gearing

Your gearing should be governed by the 12.86% maximum, not the 4.37% average. A short pitch that steep will bog you down if you are geared for the mean. Run a compact (50/34) or sub-compact chainset paired with a wide-range cassette — a 34×32 or 34×34 low gear gives you the cadence to spin through the steepest ramp instead of grinding it. Check your setup before the ride; a cassette swap is a garage job, not a roadside one.

Summary

• Length: 9.3 km
• Average gradient: 4.37%
• Maximum gradient: 12.86%
• Net elevation gain: 408 m
• Total ascent: 538 m
• Category: 3

Treat the Col de Catchaudégué as harder than its Category 3 label suggests. The 130 m gap between net gain and total ascent, plus a 12.86% ramp, rewards riders who pace to power and gear for the steep. Set your effort, protect it on the flats, and the summit at 892 m comes without a blow-up.