Quarry Gap

Quarry Gap cycling climb profile

Quarry Gap is short on distance and heavy on consequence. At 1.8 km, it looks manageable on paper, but the average gradient of 15.05% changes the equation immediately. This is not a climb where the opening can be treated as a warm-up before settling into rhythm. The numbers point to a road that demands climbing discipline from the bottom.

The climb starts at 57 m and reaches a summit elevation of 330 m, with a listed net elevation gain of 273 m. That vertical change packed into such a short length is the defining feature. Quarry Gap is listed as a category 1 climb, and the classification makes sense in practical terms: the difficulty comes less from duration and more from how little margin the gradient gives you.

How the gradient rides

The key detail is the relationship between the average gradient and the maximum gradient. Quarry Gap averages 15.05% and tops out at 18.78%. That is a relatively narrow gap for a climb this steep, which suggests the difficulty is not just one isolated ramp. Instead, the baseline is already hard, and the steeper sections simply push an already severe effort closer to the limit.

That matters tactically. On a climb with a moderate average and one very steep pitch, you can often ride under control, absorb the wall, then reset. Quarry Gap does not offer that same reset. When the average sits this high, any surge above threshold or any early overgearing has a cost that arrives quickly. The climb is short enough to tempt aggression, but long enough that a poorly judged opening can turn the final portion into survival riding.

Pacing and gearing

Treat Quarry Gap as a controlled maximal climbing effort, not a standing-start sprint. The right pacing choice is to start just below the effort you think you can hold, then allow the gradient to bring the intensity up rather than forcing it yourself. If you go deep in the first minutes, there is not enough road left for a tactical recovery, but there is still enough climbing left for the damage to show.

Gearing should be chosen before the steepest sections arrive. With a maximum gradient of 18.78%, an easy climbing gear is not optional if you want to keep pressure smooth and avoid grinding yourself into a stall. If cadence collapses early, the climb becomes muscular rather than aerobic, and the final stretch will feel much longer than 1.8 km.

A good ride here is steady, compact, and patient. Stay seated when traction and cadence allow, stand only to keep momentum over the steepest pitches, and avoid sharp accelerations unless the summit is genuinely close. For riders pacing by power, Quarry Gap is the kind of climb where knowing your /glossary/ftp helps, but feel matters too: the grade will punish any effort that looks impressive for the first half and unsustainable for the second.