Francis Street - Lorne.
Want to take on one of Victoria's hardest 'pinch climbs'? Francis Street in Lorne will take you well into the red zone. There's not many people that can boast getting up this one without walking.
Words and Images - Brendan Edwards
This is Victoria’s hardest climb.
With gradients that push close to 40% this is one scary climb. What makes it extra difficult is the fact the road is little over a car length wide so you don’t have much space to zig zag up. On the steepest section there are a couple of rough patches which make traction difficult... and this is near where the climb peaks to 40%.
There is a technical corner which is very difficult to negotiate around at the super slow speed that we will guarantee that you will be doing.
One purely for the hill junkies. We would not recommend to attempt this climb unless you are comfortable with climbing gradients around 20%.
Maybe the next addition of the Dirty Dozen will be in Lorne!
Distance: 300m
Average Gradient: 21.6%
Elevation gain: 84 meters
Traffic: Light traffic
Surface: Sealed
Category: 4
Do you dream of the open road, riding through beautiful rolling country and breathing in the fresh country air? Of riding roads with little traffic and testing yourself against some very spicy climbs? Well, you can get this and a lot more from this year’s Newcrest Orange Challenge.