A ‘Beyond Category’ climb denotes the longest or steepest (or both) cols in the Tour de France, as well as selected UCI races on the Continent. Probably all the famous climbs you can think of are Hors Catégorie and, according to the quick internet search I did this evening, there are around 40 of these monsters. I’ve just spent 15 minutes making a My Maps of them all, color-coded to show myself where I have to get to once Covid goes away.

Unsurprisingly, nearly all the HC climbs of the Tour de France are in either the Alps or the Pyrenees, with a couple in the Jura, the bald granddaddy of them all in Provence, and one right in the center of the country that actually can’t be climbed by bike anymore, except for one single day a year – Puy de Dôme.

If you’d like to add a few climbs to your bucket list, click on the link below. Me, I think a trip to the northern Alps is overdue…