Proposal 63: 3B.2.5 Climbing road race [ Revision 8 ]
Committee: 3. Road RacingSubmitted on 2025-07-08
Status: Passed on August 06, 2025
Background
The Climbing Road Race is a unicycle road event that has already been successfully organized at several national and international competitions. It was first held at the CFM in 2015 in Scionzier, then in UNICON20 in Grenoble, and is planned again for CFM2025 in Scionzier as a replacement for the traditional marathon.
This race format takes advantage of specific topographical features and is only feasible in regions with sustained climbs over several kilometers. It allows standard and unlimited unicycles to compete in the same race, emphasizing endurance, pacing, and climbing ability rather than top speed on flat terrain.
Proposal
3B.2.5 Hill Climb
1. A Hill Climb is a unicycle road race held on a sustained uphill course, designed to test the riders’ climbing ability rather than their top speed on flat or descending terrain.
2. A Hill Climb must take place in a region with appropriate topography, featuring a continuous ascent over several kilometers. Flat or downhill sections should be avoided, especially at the start and the end of the course. A flat section may be used if required for a safe and practical race start. The course must either have an average gradient of at least 6%, or a total elevation gain of at least 850 meters.
3. There is no fixed maximum distance for a Climbing Road Race. The course length should be determined based on local topography, aiming for meaningful and challenging durations. Organizers are encouraged to consider a minimum distance of 5 km.
4. If topography allows, organizers may offer two course options: a longer "Expert" course and a shorter "Beginner" course. Both courses should follow the same climb whenever possible.
5. The majority of the course must be on paved road surfaces. Short unpaved sections are allowed only if they are smooth and rideable. The entire course must be rideable by elite riders without requiring dismounts due to excessive steepness or technical difficulty.
6. Intentionally running to gain time is not permitted.
7. A Hill Climb is a single unlimited-category competition, meaning that all riders, including standard category, start together in the same race without separation by unicycle category. When the event is held at an UNICON, additional awards shall be given to the top three males and top three females using 29" standard unicycles.
--- If the change of 3B.2 Unicycles passes add the following to paragraph 2 (changes in bold) ---
2. For large events such as Unicon or continental championships the two categories Standard and Unlimited are mandatory for all Road Races, for other conventions these two categories are strongly recommended. An exception is the combined organization of a 10 km fixed distance race and a 10 km Time-Trail, where it is permissible to offer just the Standard category for the 10 km fixed distance race and just the Unlimited category for the 10 km Time-Trail and the Hill Climb, where it is permissible to offer just the Unlimited category. The permitted unicycle classes in the categories are:
Body
see discussion
References
Discussion
View DiscussionChange Log:
- Revision 8 changed by Simon JAN (27 Jul 04:48)
2. A flat section may be used if required for a safe and practical race start
- Revision 7 changed by Simon JAN (26 Jul 05:07)
2. A short flat section at the beginning may be tolerated if necessary for a safe and practical race start.
- Revision 6 changed by Simon JAN (24 Jul 03:51)
3B.2 Unicycle : It is permissible to offer just the Unlimited category in Hill Climb
- Revision 5 changed by Simon JAN (22 Jul 09:07)
6. Intentionally running to gain time is not permitted.
- Revision 4 changed by Simon JAN (22 Jul 09:00)
6. Intentionally running with the unicycle to gain time is not permitted.
- Revision 3 changed by Simon JAN (19 Jul 03:55)
2. The course must either have an average gradient of at least 6%, or a total elevation gain of at least 850 meters.
7. When the event is held at an UNICON, additional awards shall be given to the top three males and top three females using 29" standard unicycles.- Revision 2 changed by Simon JAN (13 Jul 10:02)
- name change: Hill Climb
- deletion of the minimum average slope requirement
- deletion of the uphill start requirement, replaced by a recommendation to avoid artificially adding a flat or downhill section at the start
- change in point 7: a single unlimited competition and, in the case of UNICON, the need for 2 classifications: global + 29" standard- Revision 1 changed by Simon JAN (08 Jul 11:30)
Votes on this proposal:
9 out of 14 voting members have voted.
Agree: 9, Disagree: 0, Abstain: 0.