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Video: Lisbon's hill climb with a difference - up a funicular railway track

Climb to Glory features 17 per cent gradient, wet cobbles, and funicular tracks to dodge...

Here’s a nice video of a hill climb contest with a difference – earlier this month, cyclists in Lisbon took to the route of one of the Portuguese capital's most historic funicular railways, the Elevador da Glória, to mark the centenary of the first such race, named the “Subida à Glória” – in English, the Climb to Glory.

Subida à Glória from Manuel Portugal on Vimeo.

Besides coping with a gradient in excess of 17 per cent on the 265 metre course, riders had to dodge the tracks and if that weren’t hazard enough, they had to ride up cobbles made slippery by the rain, too.

Despite that, Ricardo Marinheiro managed the ascent in 39 seconds, shattering the previous record of 55 seconds set by Alfredo Piedade in 1926 – we’re guessing his bike was rather heavier.

Hopefully there was a special prize for the female cyclist who made it up the ascent on a Brompton.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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4 comments

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seanieh66 | 10 years ago
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The trams we're still running before the war  3 They were that hard.

Nah, just kidding. However, I do remember that being a brutal climb. Bravo.

Sean

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Simon_MacMichael | 10 years ago
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They're not short of funicular lines in Naples, I'm a little miffed now that they didn't send Stage 1 of the Giro up one.

"World's toughest race" indeed  3

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Dr. Ko | 10 years ago
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Brave men and women!  41

http://innercitymobility.blogspot.de/2013/01/made-in-europe-portugal.html

I assume it is the 28 route. Scrap that, seems more like the escalator route left of the Avenue de Liberdade.

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Dr. Ko | 10 years ago
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Brave men and women!  41

http://innercitymobility.blogspot.de/2013/01/made-in-europe-portugal.html

I assume it is the 28 route.

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