Rwanda’s upcoming world championships debut is making headlines for just how hard the course will be. With nearly 5,500m of vertical elevation gain and loss over the elite men’s course. in Kigali, some are calling it the hardest world championships course ever. But that doesn’t even come close to the hardest worlds event ever, or even this week. That would be when Sicily hosts the inagural Everesting World Championships on Sept. 20-21.
Everesting, of course, refers to riding up and down one hill until you match the elevation of Mount Everest. Or, 8,848 metres. The first-ever Everesting Worlds will bring riders from all over the globe to Sicily to just that on the slopes of Mount Etna. While not a UCI event, so no rainbow jersey’s will be handed out, it is being billed as a world championship event. And it sounds hard enough to warrant the claim.
Canadian chases Everesting infamy in Italy
Canada’s Jack Burke will be among those contesting the epic endurance event. Burke has plenty of experience gaining elevation. The Toronto-born rider recently snatched a series of high-profile Strava KOM’s from top pros. Burke unseated Vincenzo Nibali’s time up the Motorolo, Sep Kuss’s Alp d’Huez digital record and set the fastest time online up the Stelvio. All those exploits were in pursuit of a World Tour contract, so far elusive. This weekend, Burke will chase a world championship title on the slopes of Mount Etna.
It’s not just a staggering total elevation gain that sets Everesting worlds apart from road worlds, either. The pros in Kigali will get the benefit of a winding route through the Rwandan mountains. At Everesting worlds, all racer have to go up and down the same 1,200-m climb, again and again, until they match Everest’s elevation (or they tap out). Road worlds racers also have team support vehicles, whereas Everesting racers will be solo, save for some aid stations set up on the course. All in all, it sounds like a really hard way to spend your Saturday. And probably part of your Sunday, too.