Rogla from Zreče: 16 km at a gradient that never lets up

Rogla sits on the Pohorje range above Zreče at 1,517 m, by the Tour of Slovenia's figure. The local tourist board calls the road up a challenge every serious cyclist should have done. It puts the climb at a little over 16 km and about 1,100 m from the spa at Terme Zreče, and counts it among the hardest in Slovenia because the gradient so rarely eases. It has no famous wall. What it has is an hour or more at the same hard effort, which makes it the perfect climb to learn pacing on. Here is how it is built, how to ride it, and how to train for it indoors.

The climb

The tourist board's route leaves Terme Zreče on the regional road and simply follows it to the top, signed L355: past Hotel pod Roglo, through Boharina to Padeški vrh, then past the holiday village at Nune to Rogla. It is asphalt all the way, and the board rates it very hard. Our track starts in the town and finishes at 1,486 m, below the 1,517 m summit, so it measures 13.5 km and 1,025 m rather than the board's 16.4 km. The shape is the same.

• The first four kilometres: the hardest. The road climbs out of Zreče at 8.1–9.3% for four kilometres in a row. It is the steepest part of the climb and it comes first, which is exactly why riders overcook it.
• Kilometres four to six: the only relief. The gradient drops to about 7% and then 5.5%. It is the one stretch on the whole climb where you can sit up, drink and eat.
• The forest: five kilometres of 7–8%. From the sixth kilometre the road settles back to 7–8.3% through the Pohorje forest and stays there. Nothing changes, and that is the hard part.
• The top: a little easier, never easy. The last two and a half kilometres to the resort ease to 6–7%. Our steepest kilometre on the whole climb is only 9.7%.

How to ride an hour at the same gradient

Most amateurs take between an hour and an hour and three quarters. On a climb this even, your pacing plan is your whole result.

• Pick a number and keep it. For an hour-long climb, 90–95% of FTP is the upper limit; for longer, 85–90%. The gradient barely changes, so your power shouldn't either. Pacing a climb with power explains why an even effort is fastest.
• Hold back in the first four kilometres. They are the steepest, and you are fresh. Ride them 5% below your target and you will have it back with interest in the forest.
• Eat at kilometre five. The easy section is the only good place to eat. Use it.
• Cadence over gears. At 7–9% a compact with a 30 or 32 sprocket lets most riders hold 80 rpm. Pick the gear you can keep for an hour, not the one that feels quick now. See gearing for climbing.
• The descent is a main road. It is a long, quick regional road, shared with cars. Stay in your lane and brake before the bends.

A summit finish

The Tour of Slovenia has finished on Rogla. In June 2017 the third stage ended at the top, and the organiser describes the final climb as 13 kilometres long. Rafał Majka of Bora–Hansgrohe attacked on it and won by four seconds from Giovanni Visconti, with Jack Haig 12 seconds back, and took the race lead.

Rogla itself is a ski resort and a winter sports centre. In 2019 it gained Slovenia's first treetop trail, 1,000 m long including the walk up its 35-metre tower. The Municipality of Zreče owns the land it stands on.

Practical

• Season. In winter Rogla is a ski resort and the top of the road is snowy. Ride it from late spring to autumn, and take a gilet for the descent.
• Other roads. The tourist board says the area's many asphalt roads are quiet enough to suit road riding, and it publishes several signed routes from Zreče. One is a second way to Rogla, the A2, which uses quieter roads and forest tracks.
• Off the road. The Rogla bike park has nine downhill trails, and the tourist board signs a gravel road from Rogla on to Klopni vrh.
• An e-bike for company. If someone in your group isn't up to 1,100 m, the tourist board in Zreče rents e-bikes.
• More of Pohorje. The Maribor and Pohorje guide covers the eastern side of the range. For Slovenia's other big climbs, start with cycling in Slovenia.

Ride it in Moveee Indoor

The route on this page is the real road from Zreče to Rogla, 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 Pohorje. Because the climb is so even, it is a near-perfect indoor test: an hour at one gradient shows exactly how long you can hold a power, and where you start to fade.

Ride it as a monthly benchmark through the winter. Your rides are saved with their power data, so you can compare the steep first four kilometres with the forest and see where you are losing time. If you are training for a gran fondo, this plan fits Rogla in well. Prefer another app? Download the GPX above.

The short version

About 16 km and 1,100 m from Terme Zreče by the tourist board's figures, at a steady 7–9% that almost never lets up. Hold back on the steep first four kilometres, eat on the easy fifth, and keep one number through the forest. Ride it from late spring to autumn, and use it on the trainer as your winter benchmark.