What is cycling without its climbs? Between the famous climbs of the Alps, the Dolomites and the Pyrenees to the joy of racing up your local butte, climbing is the tie that binds all the disparate threads of cycling together.
Europe is home to some of the most legendary climbs, with the Grand Tours providing the mystique around the likes of the Alpe d'Huez, Passo del Stelvio, Col du Tourmalet and Alto de Angliru. Even if you were to look beyond those names, during the last week of the Tour de France, there were climbs that garnered more attention than any American climb will ever receive from the larger cycling consciousness.
