Pak Kung Au

Pak Kung Au cycling climb profile

Pak Kung Au is the kind of climb where the headline number tells you most of what matters, but not all of it. At 2.2 km with an average gradient of 9.86%, it is short enough to tempt riders into attacking it hard from the bottom, yet steep enough that doing so can turn the final section into damage control.

The profile starts at 118 m and tops out at 334 m, with 216 m of net elevation gain. That relationship between distance and elevation gain is the key feature: this is not a rolling approach to a climb, or a long ascent where the gradient slowly accumulates fatigue. It is a compact, sustained effort where the road spends almost the entire climb asking for real torque.

How the gradient unfolds

The average gradient of 9.86% sets the tone. On a climb this short, an average that close to double digits usually means there is limited room to recover. The listed maximum gradient is 11.94%, so the hardest ramps do not appear wildly above the average. That matters tactically. Pak Kung Au is less about surviving one extreme wall and more about handling a consistently heavy slope.

That consistency changes how it should be ridden. If a climb averages under its maximum by only a small margin, the steeper moments are not isolated surprises. They are extensions of the same pressure. You are already working hard before the road reaches its steepest point, so the cost of going over threshold early is higher than it looks on paper.

As a category 2 climb, Pak Kung Au deserves respect despite the modest length. The categorisation matches the sensation: not a long mountain pass, but steep enough that pacing mistakes arrive quickly and compound fast.

Pacing and gearing notes

The cleanest way to ride Pak Kung Au is with discipline at the base, then commitment once the rhythm is set. Because the climb is only 2.2 km, the temptation is to treat it like a short maximal effort. That can work for a rider targeting a hard effort, but for most cyclists the smarter approach is to ride the opening below panic level, keep cadence from collapsing, and save the final push for when the summit is realistically within reach.

A few practical cues help:

• Shift early. At an average of 9.86%, waiting until cadence is already falling costs momentum.
• Use a gear that lets you stay seated through the sustained steep sections, not just one that feels manageable at the bottom.
• Avoid surging into the steepest ramps. With a maximum of 11.94%, the hard sections are steep enough to punish accelerations, but not so steep that you need to attack them.
• If riding by power, anchor the effort around a number you can actually hold under load, rather than chasing a short-climb burst from the first metres. For context on setting that ceiling, see /glossary/ftp.

What defines the climb

Pak Kung Au is defined by density. The distance is short, the elevation gain is packed tightly, and the gradient does not give much away. The winning ride is not complicated: keep the first half controlled, stay on top of the gear, and resist the urge to turn a steady category 2 climb into an early anaerobic gamble.