Videos: Col Collective takes on Colorado's monster climb, Pikes Peak

Mike Cotty has ridden up some of the most iconic climbs in cycling - so when he says that the ascent featured in the latest Col Collective video is "one of the best in the world," it's worth taking notice.

The climb in question is Pikes Peak in Colorado, with Season 2 of the popular video series featuring ascents on the other side of the Atlantic for the first time.

Named after American soldier and explorer Zebulon Montgomery Pike, who tried and failed to climb to the summit during his government backed 1806 expedition in what is now the southwestern US, it's a monster.

Consider this. The highest paved road in Europe is the Pico de Veleta in Spain's Sierra Nevada, where the asphalt ends at 3,300 metres of altitude. The highest point ever reached in the Tour de France, the Col de la Bonette in the Alps, tops out at 2,802 metres.

The summit of Pikes Peak, though - the road, not the mountain - is 4,302 metres above sea level, and to get there you are riding more than 30 kilometres up an average gradient of 6.5 per cent.

Here's the video of Cotty tackling what is an absolute behemoth of a climb, followed by his comments on it.

I’d been captivated and intrigued by Pikes Peak ever since I saw legendary Manx TT racer Guy Martin thrash his motorbike up to its 14,115ft / 4,302m summit to win the International Pikes Peak Hill Climb a few years back.

The fact that his bike was coughing and spluttering due to the lack of oxygen meant that I knew it was going to be a challenge, and one that I hadn’t faced before at this kind of altitude.

Starting from the Pikes Peak Gateway you’re just a few metres lower in elevation than the top of the Stelvio, and that’s even before you get going! Winding your way deeper into the Pike National Forest the spectacle of the mountain starts to unfold before your eyes.

Crystal Reservoir gives a moment of respite before the road pitches up once more and you join the Hill Climb course, and the 156 bends that lie ahead from here to the summit. The gradient may only average 6.5% but that’s not what this climb is all about. The oxygen starved atmosphere makes the going much harder. Pacing is crucial, as is staying well fuelled and hydrated over its 19 miles (30.5km).

It's crazy to think that this road has only been open to cyclists since 2013. It’s a sensory overload from start to finish, definitely one of the best climbs in North America and, if the truth be known, I’d say it’s one of the best in the world.

Vital statistics

Start: Pikes Peak Gateway
Length: 19 miles / 30.5km
Summit: 14,115ft / 4,302m
Elevation gain: 6,315ft / 1,925m
Average gradient: 6.5%
Max gradient: 13%

If you thought that was spectacular, wait till you see the video of the descent; again, Cotty's commentary comes after the clip.

You know what they say, what goes up…….and at this altitude that also means you come down VERY FAST.

At 14,115ft / 4,302m the summit of Pikes Peak makes you feel like you’re on nothing but the top of the world. The lack of oxygen and lower air pressure doesn’t just make it harder to breathe, it means you accelerate far quicker than normal which, if you’re not aware, can catch you out.

Descending through every layer of vegetation, from the unique pink Pikes Peak Granite, through the ‘Devil’s Playground’, on towards the famous switchbacks and then deep into Bigfoot territory, this is a descent like nothing else on the planet.

Vital statistics

Length: 19 miles / 30.5km
Summit: 14,115ft / 4,302m
Finish: 7,800ft / 2,377m
Elevation drop: 6,315ft / 1925m
Average gradient: 6.5%
Max gradient: 13%