CyclistClassic UK climb: Gold HillThe fluidity of well-honed souplesse; soaring Alpine passes; the dynamism of a peloton in full flight There are plenty of examples to demonstrate that cycling is one of the most graceful sports on the planet. However it also comes with a number of indignities: skin-tight kit; clacking and slipping on a cafe floor; being forced to push your bike up a steep hill. For most cyclists the first two are unavoidable, but usually the third can be surmounted with a well-timed energy gel and a big sprocket. That is unless your route takes you up Shaftesburys Gold Hill. Just ask the Hovis bakers boy.The KoM is 21 seconds for men and 33 seconds for women. Dont be surprised if it takes you a little longer than that.Mike Massaro / CyclistIf Gold Hill looks familiar, thats because it was made famous by the Ridley Scott-directed 1973 advert for Hovis bread the one where a flat-capped boy pushes his bike, heavily laden with bread, up the climbs steep cobbles to the tune of Dvoks New World Symphony.That lad had his work cut out. Gold Hill may be a mere 143m in length, but a maximum gradient of 25% gives a clue as to how vicious the climb is, and why it has made it into Cyclists series on the UKs best and hardest climbs.Mike Massaro / CyclistAn eternity over in a flashOriginally an access road to Shaftesbury Abbey, which was founded in the 9th century by King Alfred the Great, the climb starts claustrophobically but innocuously enough. You can approach it from St Jamess Street or Layton Lane in both cases the 90 degree turn onto Gold Hill results in a sudden ramping up in gradient.The rough cobblestones in the final two-thirds of the climb make the 25% gradient feel even harder.Mike Massaro / CyclistAt first the road is hemmed in by terraced houses on the right and the buttressed lower walls of the abbey on the left. It is further choked by parked cars, but at this point its smoothly tarmacked and no more than 10%.The gentle bend to the right that forms the first third or so can be dispatched in no more than a few seconds. Beyond that, however, any sense of calm and control is shattered as the gradient ratchets into the twenties and the tarmac gives way to cobblestones.The cafe at the top offers superb views of struggling cyclists.Mike Massaro / CyclistThose with experience of Belgian bergs and French pav might approach this section of Gold Hill with a certain complacency. Yet theyd do well to recalibrate their expectations, because unless they were expecting angular stones laid with the haphazardness of the Arenberg up a slope steeper than the Paterberg, Gold Hills cobbles are a different kettle of fish.Riders are faced with the unique difficulty of handling a bike thats taking on steepness and roughness combined. The front wheel is bucking around on the uneven ground so weight must go forward, but too much off the back wheel and youll lose traction.Mike Massaro / CyclistFew climbs are a battle of coordination as well as strength. Add in the pressure of attempting this in front of an audience the Hovis ad has turned Gold Hill into a popular tourist attraction, plus theres a cafe at the top where al fresco diners have a perfect view down the slope and the climbs second half feels interminable.Should you make it to the top, though, prepare for rich rewards. There will be applause and praise from your spectators and the view back over the iconic thatched cottages and Blackmore Vale beyond has been described as one of the most romantic sights in England.Its not recommended to emulate the Hovis delivery boy and turn around to freewheel back down with legs outstretched, however, because going down is just as precarious as going up. Besides, the bakery is at the top of the hill anyway.The statsGold HillLocation Shaftesbury, DorsetLength 143mSummit height 212mAscent 23mAverage gradient 15%Maximum gradient 25%Current best Strava timeKoM Steve Ambrose, UK, 21secQoM Charlotte Dadd, UK, 33secThe post Classic UK climb: Gold Hill appeared first on Cyclist.