Virginia cyclist, photojournalist demonstrates the climbs of the UCI world championships road circuit

As expected, the course at the UCI road world championships in Richmond, Virginia will be a tough one, testing the world’s top competing road riders. Richmond’s competitors in the Elite men’s category face a 259.2-kilometre competition; the Elite women, meanwhile, have a 129.6 kilometre ride ahead of them. For both competitions, the road circuit is divided into 16.2 kilometre laps.

And that’s without taking into account the climbs.

There are three particularly tough ascents, located at Libby Hill, 23rd Street, and Governor Street near Richmond’s riverside downtown core. At least a couple of them come in relatively rapid succession, too, with the 200 meter Libby Hill and 100 metre 23rd Street climbs separated by only a few blocks. In all, the course involves 103 metres of elevation change — enough for the urban course to pack a punch. And one amateur cyclist in Richmond, Virginia — photojournalist Stuart DuBreuil — took it upon himself to document the challenge, tackling the climbs himself.

Not long ago, he posted a video account of the preview ride to YouTube, demonstrating the impact of the grueling course even when geared as low and as gently as possible. You can almost feel the grades — which DuBreuil, in the video’s comments, estimated to be possibly in the 16%-20% range.

The UCI road world championships kick off tomorrow, Sept. 19, in Richmond, Virginia, running until Sept. 27th.