Mount Leone ITT   

The Monte Leone time trial is one of the shortest but hardest time trials there is in the OCM tour. At 12 kilometers long, the time gaps would usually be short, but due to the very steep climb, the gap can be as high as two minutes.

The race starts under the bridge that takes cars up to the Simplon pass from Brig, but today the riders will be heading closer to Monte Leone itself than the top of the pass. The first k...

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The Monte Leone time trial is one of the shortest but hardest time trials there is in the OCM tour. At 12 kilometers long, the time gaps would usually be short, but due to the very steep climb, the gap can be as high as two minutes.

The race starts under the bridge that takes cars up to the Simplon pass from Brig, but today the riders will be heading closer to Monte Leone itself than the top of the pass. The first kilometre is completely flat as the course crosses the valley with some undulations. From then on though, the hairpin bends start. Nineteen in total, but only eighteen will hurt, for the last bend takes the riders into the finishing straight on a plateau. The first four hairpins favour the bigger riders that prefer the flatland. They will often lead at the first time check, just before they turn left onto the road that takes them to the finish line. However, for those that have given too much to begin with, they are in for a terrible journey. The next 10 kilometers will take them almost an hour, with a few of the earlier hairpin bends reaching gradients of 20% on the inside of the bend. At this point it is common to see two to three riders within the same stretch of road, for it is so steep that the riders bunch together. The second time check is with just six bends to go. At this point, the earlier riders can see almost all of the other competitors dotted along the road below him. Although the course then drops down to an average gradient of 7%, the leader at this point is not the winner. With three kilometres still to go, any rider can crack and lose as much as three minutes of their advantage. However, at this point, the summit of the Monte Leone is visible, as is the farmhouse that marks the finish line.
At the end of the day, the victor will be the rider who paced the climb the best, for the course suits neither the time triallists nor the pure climbers to the but those who are able to do both. But even the winner knows, that to conquer Monte Leone itself is impossible. He is not the winner of the day; the mountain has once again scarred even the winner with the gruelling pain. For that reason alone, no rider has won the race twice, for on their second visit they will approach the climb too slowly and fall to the back of the pack. Only once can you be a winner on Monte Leone.