Beijing

About the Route

Another surprising switchback route for 2024 has been proposed close to Beijing. About 2 hours north of the bustling metropolis, the route starts in the summer tourist town of Shidu.

Our first climb of the day is also known as the “Beijing Stelvio” and is one of the most famous switchback roads in the region. At the top of the climb, there’s a secret side road that can be accessed by hopping a barrier put in place to stop through-traffic. This is a brand new road that offers a completely car-free descent.

Next, we head up the main climb of the day, 20 km with +1000m of climbing. There will be a short section of a busier road but it’s far away from the city so it should be generally quiet (fingers crossed).

The third climb is an 8km ‘roller’ at about 4.5% so we should be able to tap away quite fast on the pedals. After reaching the summit, we’ll be treated to a 20km descent that has a bunch of switchbacks with some nice banking corners.

Heading back to Shidu, we will have almost 3000m of elevations in the legs and over 100 switchbacks in the pocket. One of the most surprising routes for the year.