God Help Me Pass

God Help Me Pass cycling climb profile

God Help Me Pass is a category 2 climb in LS that asks for discipline more than drama. The headline numbers are clear enough: 9 km in length, an average gradient of 5.82%, and a maximum gradient of 9.43%. It starts at 1745 m and reaches a summit elevation of 2271 m, with 526 m of net elevation gain listed in the context.

That combination makes this a sustained aerobic climb rather than a short power test. The average is not savage, but it is high enough that there is very little free speed. If you ride the first part like a roller and wait for the road to give something back, the climb can quietly pull you above the effort you intended.

How the gradient unfolds

The available profile data does not break the climb into named ramps or kilometre-by-kilometre sections, so the safest read is to treat God Help Me Pass as a mostly consistent 9 km ascent with harder pitches embedded inside it. The 5.82% average tells you the climb is manageable if paced evenly. The 9.43% maximum tells you there are sections steep enough to punish poor gear choice or an early surge.

The important tactical point is the gap between the average and the maximum. A climb that averages under 6% can feel controlled when the road is sitting near its mean gradient, but any pitch close to 9.43% changes the cost of maintaining speed. If you try to hold the same speed through those steeper parts, the power demand rises sharply. Better riders will let speed fall slightly, keep torque under control, and avoid turning those ramps into repeated anaerobic efforts.

Pacing notes

Ride the opening minutes below your target climbing effort. On a 9 km climb, the damage usually comes from treating the average gradient as permission to start hard. The climb is long enough that small over-threshold efforts compound, especially once the steeper pitches arrive.

A sensible pacing approach is:

• Settle early at a controlled endurance-to-tempo rhythm rather than chasing speed.
• Use the middle of the climb to lock into a sustainable cadence and breathing pattern.
• Save any above-threshold work for the final section, not the first steep pitch.

If you pace by power, anchor the effort against your /glossary/ftp rather than against speed. Wind, surface, and gradient changes can all distort speed, but power will tell you whether you are spending matches too early.

Gearing notes

Bring a low enough gear to ride the maximum gradient without grinding. The climb's average gradient may tempt a harder setup, but the 9.43% maximum is the number that should guide gearing. You want a ratio that lets you stay seated and keep cadence alive when the road kicks up.

The best execution here is controlled and slightly conservative: accept the steady nature of the climb, avoid surging into the steeper sections, and let the final kilometres decide how much you have left. God Help Me Pass rewards the rider who manages effort cleanly from bottom to summit.