Medvedjak

Overview

Medvedjak is a Category 1 climb in Austria, running 17.4 km from a base at 538 m to a summit at 1,693 m. On paper it delivers 1,155 m of net elevation gain at an average gradient of 6.62%, which places it firmly among the longer sustained efforts you can put in a day. The start and summit numbers tell you the vertical span; the length tells you it will not be over quickly.

What those headline figures hide is the undulation. The total ascent is 1,823 m — 668 m more than the net gain of 1,155 m. That gap means the road repeatedly drops and climbs again on its way up, and every one of those descents has to be re-climbed. You pay for that extra 668 m of vertical in your legs even though it never shows up in the summit-minus-start math. Plan your effort around 1,823 m of climbing, not 1,155 m.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The 6.62% average is a blend, not a constant. With a maximum gradient of 23.83%, there are pitches on this climb that are more than three times steeper than the average, and those ramps are where the day is decided. Between them sit shallower and even downhill stretches that pull the average down.

• Flatter and downhill recovery sections where the road gives back some of the height you gained
• Repeated short climbs that follow each dip — the source of the 668 m of extra ascent
• The steepest ramp near 23.83%, where cadence collapses if your gearing is wrong

Pacing Notes

On an undulating climb like this, even-effort beats even-speed. Chasing a constant speed forces you to spike hard over every steep ramp and coast the descents, which burns matches you cannot replace. Instead, hold a steady sustainable power output and let your speed rise and fall with the road.

Let the gradient do the pacing: ease slightly on the 23.83% ramps rather than blowing up, and use the flatter and downhill sections to recover, not to attack. Before you go, run your numbers through the FTP estimator so your target wattage is grounded in real data over 17.4 km and 1,823 m of climbing.

Gearing

The steepest gradient governs your setup. At 23.83%, a standard chainset will leave you grinding. Fit a compact or sub-compact chainset paired with a wide-range cassette — think 34×32 or 34×34 — so you keep a workable cadence on the sharpest ramps instead of muscling over them. Check your chainset and cassette before the ride; there is no fixing a too-tall gear once you are on the 23.83% pitch.

Summary

• Length: 17.4 km
• Average gradient: 6.62%
• Maximum gradient: 23.83%
• Net elevation gain: 1,155 m
• Total ascent: 1,823 m
• Category: 1

Medvedjak is a long Category 1 effort defined by its undulation: 1,155 m of net gain but 1,823 m of actual climbing. Pace it by power, gear for the 23.83% ramps, and respect the 668 m the profile tries to hide.