Kesch Peak Climb   

Kesch Peak Climb is a short time trial in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. As the name suggests, the riders face a significant quantity of the race climbing but the race starts on the flatter roads around Zuoz. For the first 4 km the road is flat before a minor hill warms the riders up for the tougher test ahead.

With 5.3 km of the race remaining, the climbing starts. The Albulapass is a tough climb that is narrow and...

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Kesch Peak Climb is a short time trial in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. As the name suggests, the riders face a significant quantity of the race climbing but the race starts on the flatter roads around Zuoz. For the first 4 km the road is flat before a minor hill warms the riders up for the tougher test ahead.

With 5.3 km of the race remaining, the climbing starts. The Albulapass is a tough climb that is narrow and open to the elements as the mountains rise steeply either side of the road, one of which is named Piz Kesch. For 6 km the road rarely dips below 7% and has several sections of above 14%. The average does dip after this point from 9% to a mere 5% but the climbing continues. The climb is crested with 1.2 km to go and begins to gently descend.

The winner is often not the best at timetrialling and requires a good ability to climb and though the race cannot be won on the flatter sections, it can definitely be lost. The weather often plays a deciding factor with poor weather not unheard of in this area of Switzerland and the low swirling cloud can cause the riders to disappear into the unknown and making the corners trickier if it is wet.