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Conquering Coal Bank and Molas passes key for Iron Horse victory

‘Uphill is all about pacing and training’

Cycling lore elevates its climbers’ status higher than the peaks they conquer.

Names such as Federico Bahamontes, Fausto Coppi and Lucien Van Impe resonate like Bobby Orr, Bill Russell and Babe Ruth.

The climb becomes a symbol of human striving – human suffering.

Those who can ignore or overcome the pain prevail.

“Uphills are where you test your fitness,” said Rolando Gonzalez, professional cyclist for CRC Janitorial-Cannondale presented by Hassle Free Sports.

Gonzalez will be one of the nearly 2,500 riders who will face 5,700 feet of climbing Saturday along the 47-mile Iron Horse Bicycle Classic road race route.

They don’t hold the same cycling mystique as the Pyranees or Alps, but the San Juan Mountains aren’t hills.

Coal Bank and Molas passes present the Iron Horse’s double-barreled climbing challenge. Riders gain a total of 2,265 feet between the passes, 1,682 on Molas and 1,395 on Coal Bank.

“It’s a short enough race and good if climbing is your specialty,” Gonzalez said. “The big climbs up Coal Bank and Molas is where you can separate yourself from the main group by being a good climber, and that’s what this short race is about.”

All well and good for professionals with title aspirations, but what of your average Citizen Tour rider? Someone who has trained all year just to make it to Silverton? To your weekend U.S. Highway 550 rider, Coal Bank and Molas can look more daunting than the Col du Tourmalet in the Gascony region of France.

“Some people accelerate at the bottom of the hill and burn out before they get to the top, and you’re still on the hill,” said defending IHBC women’s champion Maria Asplund. “I try to, and I tell my athletes, find a rhythm and build gradually. Especially at altitude, you’re not going to have as much of a kick.”

That’s altitude of more than 10,000 feet for both passes.

The entire IHBC takes place above 6,500 feet when it leaves Durango and finishes at 9,300 feet in Silverton.

Riders begin by climbing 4,200 feet from Iron Horse Inn to the top of Coal Bank Pass across 34 miles before the first major descent from the top of Coal Bank to Lime Creek. Then it’s right back up again to reach the top of Molas before the harrowing final descent into Silverton.

“Uphill is all about pacing and training. The downhill is more technical, but the uphill not so much,” said five-time IHBC champion Ned Overend. “It’s a tradeoff, because a bigger guy will do better on the downhill but it is harder on bigger guys going uphill.”

Technical as the descent may be, no one ever gets there without the climb.

kgrabowski@ durangoherald.com

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