Badawi Pass

Badawi Pass cycling climb profile

Badawi Pass is not a climb that rewards impatience. The headline numbers are already enough to define the ride: 19 km, an average gradient of 8.11%, and a summit at 3483 m after starting at 1938 m. That combination makes it an HC climb in the simplest sense - long enough to punish early enthusiasm, steep enough that there is very little free speed, and high enough that the final part asks for discipline rather than aggression.

The net elevation gain is 1545 m, while the listed total ascent is 1527 m. Either way, the practical message is the same: this is essentially one long uphill effort, not a rolling approach with a climb attached. The average gradient is the key number. Over 19 km, 8.11% means the resistance is always there. Even if the road briefly eases, the profile has to take that height back somewhere, and the maximum gradient of 12.72% shows that the climb has steeper sections capable of forcing a pacing reset.

How the gradient unfolds

With only the full-climb statistics available, the safest way to read Badawi Pass is as a sustained load from bottom to summit rather than a climb built around one known decisive sector. You begin at 1938 m, and the road has to gain more than 1500 m before reaching 3483 m. That shapes the ride before any tactical choice does.

The lower slopes should be treated as the place to settle, not to test yourself. On a climb this long, riding just above sustainable effort early has a compounding cost. The average gradient is already severe enough that a small over-pace does not feel dramatic at first, but it reduces the margin you need when the road pitches toward the 12.72% maximum.

The middle of the climb is where the profile becomes psychological. An 8.11% average for 19 km means there is no meaningful hiding place. If the gradient backs off, use it to restore cadence and breathing, not to accelerate. If it steepens, keep the effort capped and let speed fall. That is usually the difference between climbing the final kilometres and surviving them.

Pacing and gearing notes

Badawi Pass should be paced as a controlled threshold-adjacent climb, not as a series of attacks against the gradient. Anchor the effort to sustainable power, perceived exertion, or heart rate, but avoid chasing speed. On this profile, speed will fluctuate with gradient far more than fitness.

Practical approach:

• Start below your target climbing effort and let the first part feel almost too controlled.
• Keep a gear low enough to maintain cadence when the road approaches its steepest ramps.
• Do not burn matches on short steep pitches. The 12.72% maximum is a warning that torque demands can spike.
• Use any easier gradient to recover posture and breathing, not to push harder.
• Fuel early, because 19 km at this average gradient is a long continuous metabolic ask.

For riders pacing by power, this is a climb where knowing your FTP matters less than respecting it. The terrain will keep trying to pull you above the line. The smart ride is to stay boring for as long as possible, then use whatever is left only near the summit.