The maximum slope of a route is expressed as a percentage and refers to the steepest segment within the route, calculated over consecutive sections of 500 meters.
For example: a maximum gradient of 10% means that there is at least one 500-meter segment where you climb at least 50 meters. This gives an indication of the physical effort required at the steepest point of the route.
Difficulty level based on maximum gradient
The difficulty level is shown on a scale from 1/10 (very easy) to 10/10 (very difficult).
- A score of 1/10 means the route’s gradient ranks among the 10% easiest routes.
- A score of 10/10 means the route ranks among the 10% most difficult, or that 90% of routes are less steep according to this criterion.
Why 500m segments?
The choice of a 500-meter segment length was made intentionally to limit the effect of elevation inaccuracies. Shorter segments can lead to distorted gradient percentages due to inaccuracies in elevation data (such as GPS noise or interpolation errors).
In practice, the actual slope at certain points may feel slightly steeper than the calculated maximum. This is because the calculation takes an average over 500 meters, while short, steep parts within that segment may not be fully reflected in the figure.