Ma'ale Akrabbim

Ma'ale Akrabbim cycling climb profile

Ma'ale Akrabbim is a compact but serious category 2 climb: 5.7 km at an average gradient of 7.14%, rising from 2 m to 412 m. On paper, that places it in the awkward middle ground where it is too long to treat as a short punch, but not long enough to settle into a lazy tempo and wait for the road to pass.

The key number is not just the average. A 7.14% gradient over 5.7 km already asks for a sustained aerobic effort, but the listed maximum gradient of 11.21% changes the pacing problem. Even if the climb is broadly steady, those steeper sections will punish riders who enter over threshold and then try to recover while the road is still tilting upward.

How the gradient rides

The available profile gives the full climb length, average gradient, maximum gradient, start elevation, summit elevation, and net gain, but not a corner-by-corner gradient breakdown. That matters. Without split data, the safest way to understand Ma'ale Akrabbim is as a sustained climb with enough steepness variation to make poor pacing expensive.

The average tells you the baseline load. At just over 7%, this is a seated climbing effort for most riders, with cadence and torque management doing more for performance than repeated accelerations. The maximum gradient tells you where the danger sits. Any ramp near 11% will raise muscular demand sharply, especially if you are already riding close to /glossary/ftp.

Pacing strategy

Ride the first part as if the steepest section is still ahead. That is the correct default when the profile confirms ramps above 11% but does not show exactly where they arrive.

A smart approach is:

• Start slightly under target power rather than trying to establish speed immediately
• Keep cadence stable on the 7% average sections
• Let speed fall naturally on the steepest pitches instead of forcing the same pace
• Save one controlled lift for the final portion if the legs are still responding

The climb gains 410 m from bottom to summit, so the cost of early over-pacing will compound quickly. If you go too deep before the steepest ramps, the climb becomes a torque grind rather than a controlled aerobic effort.

Gearing notes

Gear for the maximum gradient, not the average. A setup that feels smooth at 7.14% can become marginal when the road reaches 11.21%, especially late in the effort. The right gearing should let you stay seated through the steepest ramps without dropping into a low-cadence strength effort unless that is intentional.

For riders targeting a steady time, the priority is simple: choose a gear range that protects cadence, keeps power from spiking, and leaves enough control to accelerate only when the summit is genuinely within reach.