Monte Zoncolan: The effects of the famous climb in northern Italy on the faces of eight riders who conquered it

Story and photos by Chris Monette

Monte Zoncolan. It’s perhaps the most difficult climb to ever present itself in a road race. It evokes dread in even the most experienced cyclist. The route is 10.5-km long with an average grade of roughly 12 per cent, 6 km of which rise at an average of 16 per cent with one kilometre an average of nearly 20 per cent. The Zoncolan arrived on the last day of my club’s 2016 six-day Italian cycling adventure. None of us members of the Morning Glory Cycling Club were really prepared for the climb. All 14 riders made it to the top, richer and wiser for the experience. These photos of eight from our group illustrate how that experience showed in our physical appearances. The shots were taken just prior to climbing Zoncolan and at the top – approximately 90 minutes apart.

Before and after

1. Adrian Leemhuis

It was my 10th day of serious riding in Italy. “Exhausted” would be the only word. During the ride, I wondered how in the hell men and materiel would have been able to use this road in wartime. My trip in Italy started with the Stelvio and finished with the Zoncolan. The “after” picture of me says, “Next time, I will do this on Day 1 or 2 of a trip, not Day 10.”

2. Fraser Chapman

It was my eighth day in a row on the bike in the mountains. My legs were fried. I wondered why on God’s green Earth did we save Zoncolan for the final day of the trip? Who does that? I think I was too tired to be afraid. I stayed within myself and was not concerned as my good friends danced away from me. I had purposely stayed back as we pushed off at the start to make sure I did not get myself into a situation where I was trying to follow wheels. When I was on my own, I felt very alone. My mind, which had stayed relatively sharp over the course of the trip, began to crumble. The asphalt beneath my wheels barely moved. I immediately moved into paperboy mode, swinging left and right up the wall we were attempting to climb by bike. Unlike climbs in the Alps or Pyrenees, the Zoncolan keeps its summit hidden from you. It is not till you are 400 m to the top that you realize you’ve made it. It was all about survival: nothing less and nothing more. The “after” photo is like something from a Rocky sequel. I was knocked down flat out on the canvas, but got back up again time after time after time. The photo also reminds me of how ugly I used to be.

3. Owen Lewis

Before the climb, I felt nervous. Any climb you’ve never done before is nerve-racking on the first attempt. The Zoncolan is even more so. When the “after” photo was taken, I was so unbelievably relieved. It was so much more difficult than I had anticipated. The Zoncolan is real. The effort weighs heavy and has more substance than any other effort I’ve made on the bike.

4. Jeremy Bridge-Cook

I felt nervous, excited and a bit of trepidation. I was also worried that my bike was over-geared for such a steep and long climb, even though I had put on a compact crank to help out. During the climb, I felt OK. I was a bit appalled at how long and consistently steep it as. My fears of being over-geared were realized, so I was mostly focused on trying to come up with strategies to keep moving forward and up. I alternated between zig-zagging up the road and standing. At the end, I was exhausted but happy, if not downright euphoric. Then it started to rain, and I just felt exhausted and cold. I started the descent in the rain. In a lapse in concentration, I hit the brakes a little too hard and slid out. I landed heavily on my right hip. Later that day, I went to emergency and found out that I had fractured my hip. That night I went into surgery to have the stabilizing titanium screws put into my femur.

5. Jesper Wahlberg

This was my first time riding in Europe. A full week in the mountains was incredibly intimidating. I was worried about fatigue setting in after two or three days and not being able to recover. But by the time we got to the last day and faced the Zoncolan, I felt great, was stoked and ready to fly. I soon learned that there is no flying on the Zoncolan. It has a great deal of switchbacks, but they couldn’t come fast enough as you get a bit of recovery if you take the turns extra wide. My feelings at the top were pretty pure: “Holy fuck” followed by, “Never again.” Those photos make me wonder if you can really age 10 years in two hours? Now, I have a great sense of pride and an incredible shared experience from not only on that climb but from the entire trip.

6. Derek Mayne

I was tired. It had been a long week. I was also apprehensive as I hadn’t studied the climb. I refused to paperboy the ascent and was standing the whole way. The weather was overcast and drizzle made it slightly easier. In that “after” photo, I have a slight sense of euphoria. Zoncolan was the last big climb of the trip so we could relax afterwards. Looking at the photos months later, I’m reminded of the guys who all rode that day. We made it to the top, one of the most memorable days on the bike for me.

7. Patrick Gostovic

Our group had just ridden four hard days in the Dolomites, covering 450 km and about 15,000 m of climbing. My body was tired, but my mind was excited and nervous. I only had one goal for the Zoncolan: don’t put a foot down. The beginning was slow and quiet. It was a calm, cool, slightly misty morning with no wind. No one spoke. (Rare for this group!) I just settled into a rhythm. There were these signs along the way celebrating famous pros, so I’d try to guess which pro would be coming up next. A lot of the time I was just thinking, “I can’t believe how steep this is!” In the “after” photo, I’m exhausted but satisfied. The Zoncolan was the highlight of an amazing cycling adventure with 13 great friends. The photos are a monument to that adventure.

8. Noah Niwinski

Everyone was in a great mood, each openly or secretly tense, wondering if the buildup about the difficulty was true or simply hype. On the climb, there was drudgery: it was mindless turning over the pedals, like you would lift up a bag of concrete, only to set it down to lift it back up again. Grades of 14 to 16 per cent would give way to moments of relief at 10 per cent. I had a song stuck in my head on repeat, though I forget what it was. I felt great when the “after” photo was taken. The climb was hard and fun, but it was far more rewarding for me to see everyone who had been riding that week scale the beast and finish it. It was great having friends old and new all together at the peak of what had been an incredible week of riding, laughing and all looking forward to the downhill and flat run into the last night. Now these photos say to me: get the band back together and head back to the hills.