La Riondaz from Montreux

The Riondaz is Switzerland's hardest climb that you can do on a road bike. It is quite steep, above 10% most of the time and quite long as well.

I would propose you to start from Montreux, just to warm up a bit. It is very easy, you always just follow road number 9, until you get to a bridge in Saint Maurice, of your left, right at a roundabout. You pass the thermal baths at Lavey-les-Bains and soon the climbing starts.

It is rather steep already at the beginning and there is no place to rest. But it all gets much worse after the small village of Morcles. If you can make it to the military base, then you will have some rest soon, there is a short flat part. But then the road goes up again, through numerous small switchbacks, until the paved road ends at farm. The final unpaved section can be done with a road bike, but it is really steep here, above 14% for one km! But this is the final challenge, soon you can have a rest at the top and enjoy the great view.

Finally you can roll back to Lavey-les-Bains, it is quite a slow descent because of the many switchbacks and to spin your tired legs a bit, back to Montreux.