The self-supported
High Altitude
World Championships
NEXT EVENT: 12 JULY 2025
UNLIKE ANYTHING ELSE
The High Altitude World Championships (HAWC), introduced in 2024, have quickly gained recognition as a unique event in the cycling world. This competition challenges cyclists to complete a high-altitude course within twelve hours, entirely self-supported. Unlike typical races, only the times recorded on eight designated climbing segments contribute to the overall standings. A distinctive feature of the HAWC is that all these climbs occur on cols situated above 2,000 meters, adding an extra layer of challenge due to the demanding altitude.
177
KILOMETERS OF TOTAL CYCLING.
78
KILOMETERS OF COUNTING CLIMBS.
5,821
VERTICAL METERS COVERING 8 COLS.
12
HOURS TO COMPLETE THE EVENT.
THE COURSE
Start and finish in Arabba in the beautiful Dolomites.
Counting segments:
Km 0: Passo Pordoi (<- Arabba) 9.2 km (7.1%)
Km 16: Passo Sella 5.6 km (7.2%)
Km 26: Passo Gardena 5.9 km (4.0%)
Km 44: Passo Valparola 13.8 km (5.8%)
Km 80: Passo Giau 9.6 km (9.3%)
Km 99: Passo Falzarego 10.2 km (5.5%)
Km 130: Passo Fedaia 12.8 km (7.8%)
Km 156: Passo Pordoi (<- Canazei) 11.2 km (6.9%)
See the route on Strava.
FRANCESO FREZZATO (IT)
4h 32m 51s
YVONNE REES (UK)
7h 59m 04s
RELATED STORIES
Frezzato’s impressive HAWC ride
When Francesco Frezzato won the inaugural High Altitude World Championships in Arabba, he not only beat the competition by 2 hours and 20 minutes but also delivered an impressive performance on the route segments. He claimed the daily KOM on Strava for all eight...
Rees and Frezzato become first ever High Altitude World Champions
On 13 July 2024, Arabba hosted the inaugural High Altitude World Championships, a self-supported event where riders climbed more than 5,500 meters across eight cols, each over 2,000 meters. Only the climb times counted towards the total time, and each rider had twelve...