Can An Average Guy Survive One Of The World’s HARDEST Climbs?

The average English man. No, you're above the average. Above average. What would happen if you took an average untrained non-cyclist bloke and gave them a 12 grand superbike and sent them up a 25% savage mountain? A climb so tough it's regarded as the hardest in pro cycling. The Montezon clan. Well, today we're going to find out. It's time for average dad plus 12 grand superbike versus savage climb. It's like so demoralizing when you see the gradient. I've been here all the f***ing time. Why am I doing this? This is Stefan. He's our average bloke. He's a dad of two very young children. And rather than going on epic bike rides, he spends his weekends mostly going to the park and changing nappies. Here's your bike for today's ride, Stefan. The ultimate CFR. Carbon fiber, electronic gears, super light, top of the range everything. It's got the power meter too. Stefan, you have the top. That's not all though. I've got you a beta fuel gel. That'll help. I've never needed one of these before. It's a good day to die, man. Maybe not even a good day because it's raining. But okay. Are you ready? Not too much. How will our dad of the people, Stefan, get on? Will a pro level bike and kit help him overcome this savage mountain in horrific weather as well? Let's find out. Stefan, maybe you don't know what awaits you. Because it's going to be hard. Very hard. And the weather is so bad. But don't worry. We're going to support you. You have just to think to push and pull. Push and pull. Pull in the handlebar and push on the pedals. Go steady. No speed up. Never speed up. Just keep going. Keep going. Okay, Stefan. Okay. Good luck. Three, two, one. Let's go, buddy. 10k. Woo. Go, Stefan, go. Good start for Stefan. Good work, Stefan. Good start. After one metre. Oh, mate. This 100 metres feels like forever. Come on. Tick over a k. 10% done. Hey. 1k. 1k done. Nine more to go. I'm already in my easiest gear after about 300 metres. It's going to be hard. Now, a bit more information on the task ahead. The Monte Zoncolan is a regular feature in the Giro d'Italia, a race you can watch on demand and ad free on GCN+. As mentioned, it's often regarded as the hardest climb in pro cycling. It's 10km long with an average gradient of 12% and maximum of 25. 10km uphill. I think we're just going to try and give Stefan a sticky bottle or a bidon collé. Bidon collé. No, I'm not getting up. I'm not getting up for this. Collé, collé. Go, go, go, go, go, go, go. No way. That's all right. We've got nine kilometres to practise. Currently sitting at 208 watts. Pretty spot on. In my smallest gear. I'm not 100% sure what that means. Sometimes out of saddle. Think of feather. If you can. Think of feather. Before doing this, Oli was telling me I'll be fine with these gears. 36 up front, 34 in the back. It's questionable. Seriously. I mean, we're having to weave already. Bloody hell. One thing I will say about his bike, that saddle, or this saddle, sorry, does not look particularly comfortable. At first look, it's actually not bad. Give credit where it's due. My big bum probably balances it out. Power meter back in line. It's dropped to 280 roughly. Probably something I should probably be more aiming for. I've got no idea what I'm aiming for. Let's all be honest. This is good. Just take your time. This is good. Keep it going. It's like the Giro. Come on, my friend. Yes, go, Stefan. Go, Stefan, go. Much better now. This is good. We're well and truly into the steepest part of the climb now. Stefan, I'm so impressed with how he's getting on. It's so steep here. It's tipping it down with rain. He's told us that his back is absolutely killing him, which for non-cyclists, that's a classic thing because you haven't developed those lower back core muscles, which you rely on so much, especially on something super steep like this. He's really feeling it. I mean, fair play to him. I can't believe how well he's doing. He's an absolute legend. Go around the corner. Just expect it to flatten off somewhere. It just doesn't. The average English man. No, you're above the average. Above average. Oh, thank you. Bye. Thank you. 3.3K in. Just every corner you go around. How do I feel? My heart's just going so fast. I just like, I can't turn the pedals any faster. I just, I know I'm just going to explode. It feels like that at least any second I'm going to explode. Fake. I mean, what is this so far? I can't even see. 524 meters done. I forgot I was climbing. 524. And I've ridden just about half. Just under. It's been good, mate. It's been great. Mate, this weather as well, eh? Yeah, this is why I'm so good. All right, let's go for it, everybody. Clipped in. Better than Matt Stephens. Better than Ollie. It's not that bad. It's come to halfway of climbing. It's a shame I'm no climber. I'm going to get something to eat from them. I feel fine. When I get going, I'm fine for like a minute. And I go straight down into like a hole. And then I start grinding and it's like, oh, ****. I feel like I want to keep stop starting all the time. You've broken the back of it. You've got like three and a half K to go. Yeah. So you still have two kilometers hard. But after the last part is quite easy. No, no, it's quite steep. The last one kilometers. But you need to suffer a little bit more to get there. Again. Cool. Yeah, that bit there was like, well, on the way out here, he was saying it was like 20%, this whole little bit here. So I was like, ****. Very steep, eh? I need to stop looking at that. It puts me off. Come on. Let's go. All right. I have to actually set myself up to try and click it in. Can I do better than Bridgewood? Nope. There you go. Second time lucky. I think it's only going to get worse the more I stop. I've been riding for over an hour now. An hour and five minutes. 6.7 K done. ****. What is that average speed then? Like six and a half K an hour? ****. That's like the worst I've ever had. ****. It's like so demoralizing when you see the gradient. It says it's like 13% in the old **** time. I can't stop swearing. Just hit. 1,000 meters of climbing. 1,000 meters. How do you feel? Like an idiot. Why am I doing this? Yeah. It's only over 1,000 meters of climbing. How much? Over 1,000. Kilometres of vertical. Now starts the easiest part. Gets easier. You've done most of the hard bit now. Good job, man. Apparently, like 200 meters away. ****. It's like the longest 200 meters of my life. I think I can see a sign. Jeez. Come on, Stefan. Almost there, Stefan. Almost there. I think I can see the sign. Come on, come on, come on, come on. Come on, Stefan. You're a beast. Yeah. **** beast. Come on. Oh, God. Amazing. Come on. Unbelievable. That's amazing. Unbelievable, man. What did you do? I got nothing, man. ****. You're a hero. We need to get you a coat on. You're low back? It's okay now. It's okay. It's gone for the minute. ****. We'll give you a minute. Good job, man. He's giving me a coat very kindly. Thanks, dude. Oh, jeez. You're welcome. You know what's funny? I'm so hot here, but my arms are cold. My feet are cold. Everything else is just fine. Jeez. I'm impressed, man. Without training. No training. Zero. No cycling background. Nothing. No words. Jeez. Stefan, you've done it. Unbelievable. That was incredible. That is one of the most incredible things I've ever seen, and it proves, I guess, that it is possible for the average dad to just, with a super bike, to come and ride the hardest climb in pro cycling. How was it? It's hard to think straight, to be honest. I feel completely cooked. I have nothing left. That's basically how I feel. You will never forget this experience. No. I don't think I'm ever going to do it again, either. Safe to say. It's so good. I think one of the other things, that even the best cyclists in the world could be inspired by Stefan today, because I think one of the big things that's got him through this is just the fact that he's always smiling, positive mental attitude. A lot of it is in the head, but if you've enjoyed this video and you've been inspired by Stefan, give it a thumbs up and hopefully subscribe and see you in the next one. Good job, man. Good job. Get some pizza now. Yes. On a coat as well. It's freezing, man.