Pas de Cheville

Pas de Cheville cycling climb profile

Pas de Cheville is an HC climb in CH that asks for disciplined pacing more than aggression. The raw shape is simple enough: 16.2 km from 483 m to 1,655 m, with 1,172 m of net elevation gain. The average gradient is 7.22%, and the maximum gradient reaches 14.35%.

That combination matters. A climb can average a little over 7% and still feel manageable if the steep sections are brief and there is regular recovery. Pas de Cheville does not give that impression on paper. Over 16.2 km, a 7.22% average means the baseline load is already substantial. The 14.35% maximum then adds a second problem: even if the steepest pitches are not long, they are sharp enough to force a gear choice and pacing response.

How the gradient unfolds

From the bottom at 483 m, the climb is best treated as a sustained alpine effort. There is no need to chase speed early, because the summit sits 1,172 m above the start and the average gradient is high enough to punish any opening surge. The main challenge is not one isolated ramp, but the compounding cost of holding pressure for the full 16.2 km.

The 7.22% average should guide expectations from the first kilometre. This is not a climb where riding slightly above threshold at the base is likely to be repaid later. The 14.35% maximum gradient means there are sections steep enough to spike torque, heart rate, and breathing if you arrive already overdrawn. The smart ride is to leave room for those ramps rather than discover them with no cadence left.

Pacing and gearing notes

Pace Pas de Cheville around sustainable climbing power, not around the excitement of the lower slopes. If you know your /glossary/ftp, the first half should feel controlled and repeatable, with enough margin that a double-digit ramp does not require a full reset. Riders without recent numbers can use a conservative feel: breathing deep but steady, cadence stable, and no need to stand unless the gradient forces it.

Gearing should be chosen for the 14.35% maximum, not the 7.22% average. A setup that feels fine on a steady 7% road can become too heavy when the pitch kicks up. The goal is to keep torque under control so the steepest sections do not turn into low-cadence strength efforts that damage the final kilometres.

The cleanest strategy is restraint early, patience through the middle, and only lifting the effort once the summit at 1,655 m is realistically within reach. On an HC climb with this much vertical gain, the winning move for most riders is not a heroic acceleration. It is avoiding the one bad kilometre that makes the rest of the climb unravel.