Bike rider tackles BRUTAL climb: The Tumble | 2025 Lloyds Tour of Britain Men

Watch how @andrewon2wheels fares when he takes on the toughest climb in the race, The Tumble!

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We’re here at the top of the tumble, the hardest climb in the Tour Britain men’s race for this year. The riders will tackle this 5 km climb twice, including the finish of stage 5. This could really blow up the race. It averages about 8% and maxes around 15% and it was last used in 2014. The tour of Britain have asked me to try this tricky climb and see how it compared to the pros. So, let’s go down and give it a go. [Music] Right. So, as soon as you turn left here, the tumble starts just as you’re leaving Abagavveni. The tumble, it’s 5 km long. It averages 80%, maxes 15%. I’m only going up this once, but the pros, they’ll be going up it twice, and the second time that will be the finish of stage five. Starts off fairly gentle going through small village. Then soon as we hit the first switch back, the road ramps up and the hard work really kicks in. The fastest time up the tumble was during the 2014 Tour of Britain, which was 12 minutes and 44 seconds. That’s 13.7 mph. It’s only about 5% at the moment, so it’s not too steep. So, just at the last bits of the houses now. Then we’re going to turn left, hit this first switch back, and it’s going to start ramping up. The Wahoo clocked 15% there on that bend. And he’s going to hit 15% again at some other point. Just approaching the second switch back. And it’s straight up. Taking his second switch back here. It’s now about 3 and 1 half km straight up to the summit. My speed. Where am I going? 6 and 1 half miles per hour. The pros, they’ll be doing more than double that. The effort’s pinching. My heart rate’s 167 beats per minute. We’re a third of the way through the climb now and I’ve been going for 9 minutes. The pros, they’ll be well into the last quarter of this climb, which is mad to think the speed they must be going to be that much further ahead of me. Really brings into perspective just how quick they are. The gradient’s been hovering around 8 to 10% since that last switch back. And he’s got to carry on mostly like that to the summit. At the moment, I’m only going about five miles per hour. Like I said, the pros will be going nearly triple that. This climb is hurting a lot. I’m 12 minutes and 44 seconds into this effort. The fastest pro up here was already finished and they’re on their descent, ready to loop around and do their second their second ascent of the tumble. Once is enough for me. Once is enough. I’m now at the halfway point, not far away where the view is going to open up to the right and hopefully distract the pain from my legs. The gradient’s up to 15% again here. And my legs can feel every inch of it. Let’s go over this cattle grid at a 7% gradient. Get past these trees on the right. And then we’ll get the awesome view views. It’s getting difficult to talk to the camera, which is how hard this is. Look at these views. It’s only the start of them. And you’ll start to have the crowds around here. will be even more so towards the top as the crowds wait by the finish line and cheer on the pros. Well, if you’re watching on the tumble, you’ll be able to see the pros twice. So, it’s a great spot if you want to come out and watch some pro racing and enjoy some epic views as well. Look at that. Again, this gradient’s just hovering around 8 to 10%. It’s like the climb is a cat playing with its prey and I’m the prey and the tumble’s the cat begging for mercy, waiting for it to stop. The pros who will potentially win this stage are the ones who got enough energy at the end to try and sprint over the summit, which I’ll tell you now, I will not be sprinting over that summit. My speed continues to drop. It’s now around 4 and a half miles per hour. This is a proper test of endurance. We’re into the final third of this climb. 1.6 km left. The last mile. Oh, I’ve been going for 20 minutes now. The pros, they finished their first descent of this climb eight minutes ago. Bear in mind how much I found this really difficult. I’ve got a gentle tailwind with me as well today. Just a nice 5 miles per hour pushing me up the climb. The gradient’s eased off. Going from eight to 10 percent to around 5% here. My speed has jumped up to the dizzy heights of eight miles per hour. The pros will be going double that and more. So I’ve been going now for over 25 and a half minutes. And the pros, if you was to put this climb back to back, I’ve already completed this climb twice. It’s mad to think how fast they are. We’re nearly at the summit. Look at that view back down the valley. It’s awesome view. Just keep pushing to the end. For the pros, this is where it matters. This could be the difference between getting on the podium or not, winning a stage or not. And there’s my effort done. The pros will continue descending down here before they loop back around for their second ascent of the tumble. Oh, I need to pull over and get catch my breath back. Oh, wow. Right, so I’ve had a few minutes to compose myself and catch our breath back. That was a really hard effort. Probably the hardest climb there is on the Tour Britain men’s race. It’s the longest climb and that’s what really hurt on that climb. It just kept going and going and going and it just keeps coming at you. relentless, but it’s such a stunning area to be riding around in. So, if you want to come up and watch the race, this is a great spot. So, on the tumble, you can watch the pros go past twice, including watching the finish. But if you’re unable to be here in person to watch the race, you can watch it on the Tour Britain YouTube channel, which make sure you subscribe, turn on the bell so you don’t miss notifications, and watch the race.