The **maximum slope** of a route is the steepest part of that route, expressed as a percentage. It is calculated over the shortest segment in which the ascent is greatest.
To determine this steepest part, the route is divided into equal, short segments (e.g., 10m). For each segment, the slope is calculated based on the data from the elevation profile. The slope/gradient is calculated as follows:
Find the segment with the highest value → that is the maximum gradient.
An example: Suppose you have a segment of 20 meters with an elevation difference of 4 meters:
If that is the steepest segment, then the maximum slope of the route is 20%.