Krvavec from Cerklje: 11.6 km at 8.3%, steep at both ends

Krvavec is a ski resort above Cerklje, 25 km from Ljubljana and 8 km from Brnik airport by the resort's own reckoning. In summer its road is a serious climb: our track from Cerklje to Planina Jezerca is 11.6 km with 969 m of climbing, an average of 8.3%. In August 2026 Tadej Pogačar chased a field of recreational riders up the mountain. Here is how the climb is built, how to pace an hour that never lets up, and how to ride it before you get there.

The climb

The resort describes the way in as the road through Cerklje na Gorenjskem and the villages of Dvorje and Grad. Our track leaves the cable car road to the resort and climbs past the village of Ambrož pod Krvavcem to Planina Jezerca. No official body publishes figures for it, so the numbers here are from our track.

• Cerklje to above Grad: the opening wall. The first two kilometres climb at 11.3% and then 9.5%. There is no gentle run-in. You are on the climb from the moment you leave the valley.
• The breather, then the middle. Kilometre three eases to about 3.5%. Then the road settles at 6.5–8% for four kilometres past Ambrož.
• The top five kilometres. From the seventh kilometre the road steepens again: 8.9%, then 10.9%, 8.2% and 9.7%, with no real let-up in between. Our steepest kilometre reaches 11.6%. The last few hundred metres to Planina Jezerca, at about 1,420 m, ease to 7%.

That shape is what makes Krvavec hard. The average is 8.3%, but the climb hits you twice: once at the bottom when you are fresh, and again for the last five kilometres, which hold more than 400 m of its height, when you are already tired.

How to pace it

Most fit amateurs need between 50 and 80 minutes. That is long enough to blow up and short enough to be tempted to start hard.

• Start below threshold. The opening 11% will make your power jump. Let it sit at 90–95% of FTP, not 110%, because the hardest part of the climb is still an hour away. Pacing a climb with power explains why a fast start costs you more than it gains.
• Use the easy kilometre to recover, not to race. At 3.5% it is tempting to shift up and chase time. Drink, eat a gel and get your breathing back instead. You will need it above Ambrož.
• Gear as low as you can. At 10–11% for an hour's climbing, a 34×32 is already a grind for most riders. A 34 sprocket, or bigger, is the right call here; see gearing for climbing.
• Stand in the steepest bits, sit in the rest. Short spells out of the saddle on the 10–11% kilometres use different muscles and keep your cadence alive. Seated versus standing covers when each pays.
• Descend slowly. Over 8% average down a narrow mountain road means long, hard braking. On rim brakes, stop to let the rims cool. On any bike, brake before the bends, not in them.

The Pogi Challenge

Krvavec's place in Slovenian cycling got bigger in 2026. On the first weekend of August, just after his record fifth Tour de France win, Tadej Pogačar's Pogi Challenge ended with a Sunday climb from Komenda to Krvavec. In the Slovenian Tourist Board's account, Pogačar gave the recreational riders a seven-minute head start and then passed almost all of them. Seven riders reached the top ahead of him, with Frederik Niessen the fastest of the day.

When to go, and what to expect at the top

• Season. Krvavec is a ski resort, and the mountain holds snow late. ARSO's climate normals for its station at 1,740 m, about 300 m above where the road ends, show snow on the ground on 154 mornings a year, still 24 of them in April and 4 in May. Plan on riding it from late spring to autumn, and check conditions after any cold spell.
• Cool at the top. The same station has a July mean daily maximum of only 15.5 °C, and June to August are its wettest months. Carry a gilet for the descent.
• Parking and the cable car. The resort has 500 free parking spaces at the lower cable car station, which is the easiest place to leave a car. The cable car runs in summer too, and the resort describes its hotel as the highest-located in Slovenia.
• Riding on from the top. The resort rents e-bikes and describes a fully asphalted road from the lower cable car station up to Krvavec Beach. That is a second way up if you want to make the day longer.
• Make a day of it. Krvavec pairs well with the Kamnik Alps on the other side of the valley. Our Velika planina guide covers the climbs above Kamnik, and the best loops from Ljubljana shows how to ride out from the city.

Ride it in Moveee Indoor

The route on this page is the real road from Cerklje to Planina Jezerca, with its height at every point. In Moveee Indoor your smart trainer reproduces that gradient, and the world around you is built from map data of the real mountain. On a climb this steep, that matters: the opening wall, the false relief of the third kilometre and the steep last five kilometres all arrive exactly where they do on the road.

Krvavec is also a good test. At under an hour and a half for most riders, it is short enough to ride hard once a month and compare. Your ride is saved with its power data, so you can see whether the top five kilometres got faster or only the bottom did. Prefer another app? Download the GPX above and load it there.

The short version

11.6 km and nearly 1,000 m from Cerklje to Planina Jezerca, steep at the bottom and steep again for the last five kilometres. Start below threshold, recover on the easy third kilometre, and gear lower than feels necessary. Ride it from late spring to autumn, take a gilet for the long descent, and try it on the trainer first so the last five kilometres hold no surprises.