The Mur de Montrose

Anondescript city centre shortcut to the shops is destined to become a classic climb when the superstars of the peloton ride it next month

When I lived in Glasgow back in the early 2000s, my regular ride from my home in the shadow of the Barrowland concert hall to the nearest decent supermarket on the other side of the city took me up a steep street squeezed between the grim facades of university buildings and a derelict hospital.

My hack-about-town had a triple chainring on the front. The gradient of this particular street required the granny ring, especially as I would be wearing a rucksack destined to be filled with all the natural and healthy foods that were unavailable in the east end of Glasgow (which at that time boasted a life expectancy for men of just 53 years, lower than that of Iraq).

In the pre-Strava age, I wasn’t aware of the length or gradient of this climb, just that it was steep and seemed to go on forever, but once at the top I felt as if I’d accomplished something worth sharing with thousands of strangers – if only such a thing had been possible.