Adelaide

About the Route

The dust has barely settled since the Tour Down Under last month and this #switchbacksaturday we’re exploring the Adelaide hills; a playground for climbers on the outskirts of the city.

Rolling out of the city centre, the route is a quasi figure-of-8, to take in as many switchbacks as we could find while staying on the tarmac.

The first climbs pack a series punch with Gill Tce filling you with lactic acid before a brief respite and the shallower but longer Mt Osmond giving superb views of the Adelaide city.

We’re dropping over to the Old Freeway to catch our breath before descending Norton Summit and heading towards our Switchback-laden icon of Corkscrew Road and all of the double-digit gradients that come with it.

The luscious section over Marble Hill leads us towards the spaghetti-esque Lobethal Road where gravity does most of the work through sweeping, twisting corners. Take a break in Balhannah, avail yourself of the excellent bakery, and head back over Mt Lofty via the gravelicious Sprigg Road.

We’re dropping down Norton Summit again because it’s a gentle descent for tired bodies ready to sink into some post-ride food and bevvies.