The overall difficulty score provides a quick, single-number indication of how challenging a route is to complete. This figure is useful for comparing routes, but keep in mind that the difficulty is determined by various factors (see below). Want to know what specifically might hold you back? You can always check the other route information and statistics.
Everyone experiences a route differently.
Some cyclists struggle with one steep, short hill (a real calf-burner), but find 50 km of flat cycling no problem.
Others have no problem with a short burst of effort, as long as it doesn't last too long.
The overall difficulty is expressed in the Overall Difficulty Score. This is a value from 1/100 to 100/100.
1/100 means the route is among the 1% easiest routes on RouteYou for its type (bike, walk, motor, etc.).
100/100 means the route is among the 1% most difficult routes on RouteYou for its type (bike, walk, motor, etc.).
Calculation of Overall Difficulty
The difficulty score is calculated based on 3 specific variables:
Therefore, the most extreme form of a challenging route in this model is a route where you have to climb a lot of meters, which includes a section with a heavy gradient, and which is very long.
This is then statistically compared with all the routes we have on RouteYou to relatively indicate where your route is located in terms of difficulty.
As an author, you can still assign a difficulty rating yourself.
Find a route with a specific difficulty rating
On the website, you can also set a difficulty rating in the filter options to refine your search results.