Killhope Cross

Overview

Killhope Cross is a Category 3 climb in Great Britain, running 7.2km from base to top. It starts at 357m and finishes at a summit of 634m, for a net elevation gain of 277m. On paper it reads as a steady, mid-length effort, but the terrain does not deliver its height in one clean pull.

The important number here is the gap between the 277m of net gain and the 390m of total ascent. That 113m difference is climbing you do that the net figure never shows: it disappears into short descents and false flats that you have to re-earn. In practice this means the road undulates rather than rising smoothly, and your legs pay for every dip as well as every climb. Budget your effort for the full 390m, not the tidy 277m the summit suggests.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The 3.86% average is misleading. Average gradient smooths every recovery section and every steep ramp into one flat number, and on an undulating climb like this it understates the hard parts badly. The real work sits in the pitches well above that average, culminating in a maximum gradient of 13.26%.

• Flatter and downhill recovery sections where the road gives back some height — these are where the 113m of extra ascent comes from
• Repeated short climbs stacked between the dips, each one asking for a fresh surge
• A steepest ramp hitting 13.26%, several times the average, that will force you out of your rhythm

Pacing Notes

On a smooth climb you can hold even speed. Here you cannot, and chasing a constant speed will bury you on every ramp. Pace to even effort instead: hold a steady sustainable power output through the steep pitches and accept that your speed drops, then recover on the flatter and descending sections rather than hammering them.

The trap on this profile is over-spending on the short climbs because they feel brief. With 390m of total ascent to cover, those repeated efforts add up. If you do not know your ceiling, run the FTP estimator first and set a target you can carry across all 7.2km.

Gearing

The 13.26% maximum is what governs your gearing, not the average. A ramp that steep at the wrong cadence will spike your effort and undo good pacing. Fit a compact or sub-compact chainset paired with a wide-range cassette — a 34×32 or 34×34 low gear gives you the room to spin the steep pitches instead of grinding them. Check your setup before you ride out; you do not want to discover you are under-geared halfway up a 13% ramp.

Summary

• Length: 7.2km
• Average gradient: 3.86%
• Maximum gradient: 13.26%
• Net elevation gain: 277m
• Total ascent: 390m
• Category: 3

Killhope Cross rewards riders who respect the undulation. Pace to effort, gear for the 13.26% ramp, and account for the full 390m of climbing rather than the 277m the summit implies.