The Col du Pain: a virtual climb with a weekly leaderboard
The Col du Pain is the climb in Tour du Pain: 974 metres long with 73 metres of climbing and two hairpins, from green fields into snow, ending in a tunnel of fans. Every climb is timed, the weekly leaderboard starts again each Monday, and the fastest rider of the week wears the polka-dot jersey. You ride it on your smart trainer in a browser tab, as often as you like.
Updated · Written for version 1.36.3
Tour du Pain is free for everyone through 2027, everything included. Donations are optional.
The climb in numbers
The Col opened on 29 October 2026 in version 1.19.0. It's a mountain north of the lake, on its own road off the 8.3 km loop.
| What | Col du Pain |
|---|---|
| Timed climb | 974 m, from the "Début du Col" line to the KOM line |
| Height gained | 73 m |
| Average gradient | 7.5% |
| Steepest | 9.5%, the kick in the last 55 m |
| Hairpins | Two, one left and one right |
| Turn-off | At 4.9 km on the loop |
| Back on the loop | At 5.3 km, after the descent |
The average and the steepest part come from the game's own course data. A short, nearly flat stem takes you from the loop to the foot of the climb, then three long legs climb the face of the mountain at close to 8%, easing a little through the two hairpins.
Taking the turn-off
At 4.9 km a big roadside sign announces the Col, and a card on screen offers the turn-off. Press C or the "Take the Col" button. Ignore it and you ride on around the lake, with your lap unchanged. The turn-off isn't offered once it's too late to brake for it.
A plate under the sign shows the bonus: one extra baguette for every climb, on top of the usual baguette for every 5 km you ride.
On the way up
Once you're climbing, the Col card counts down the metres and the metres up to the top, with your climb time running beside it. It also shows the climb's profile coloured by steepness, with you on it, what's left and the baguette at the top. The minimap shows the Col's branch and you on it.
The lower half is green slopes and pines. From a little past halfway the mountain turns white: snowy slopes, rocks, snowy pines and wet asphalt. Near the top the crowd thickens into a tunnel of fans, with flags, bakers waving baguettes and paint on the road. How busy the crowd gets follows your graphics setting, so a weaker laptop isn't swamped.
How the gradient feels on your trainer
Honest answer: it doesn't. The gradient sets your speed in the game, so you slow right down on the 9.5% kick, but the trainer still feels flat. In ERG mode the trainer holds your target, and in a free ride you set the effort yourself. Your time depends on the watts you push for the whole 974 m, which makes the Col a fair test of power to weight.
Your time and the leaderboard
Over the KOM line the card says "Sommet!" with your climb time. If you're signed in and riding with a trainer or a power meter, you also see your rank this week and all time, and "Personal best" when it is one. If your time can't be sent at the top, for example when you're offline, it's kept on your device and sent later.
The Leaderboard screen (Home, or key K) has three tabs:
- This week: the fastest times since Monday at 00:00 Amsterdam time. A tie goes to the earlier effort.
- All time: every climb since the Col opened.
- Clubs: a club's three fastest times this week, added up. Three climbs from one club put it on the board.
Your own row is marked, and the polka-dot jersey goes to the week's fastest. It can change hands during a ride: take the top spot on the Col and everyone sees you in polka dots within half a minute.
What counts
Only your own legs count. Riding along rests from the turn-off to the KOM line, so nobody is carried up the Col and a time is always the rider's own. The first rider to the top waits up to five minutes for the others, then you ride on together. Demo rides don't go on the board, and a time needs a trainer or a power meter.
Race a clubmate's ghost
Club members can switch on "Share your Col times with clubmates and race theirs" on the club screen. Then a see-through clubmate rides beside you on the climb, and the Col card shows your gap: "4 s behind" or "2 s ahead" of their name. Only your best time and your times every 200 m are shared, and only with clubmates who switched it on too. More about clubs in run your cycling club's indoor rides.
The descent
Over the KOM line the road eases straight into the descent, so freewheeling over the top rolls you down instead of stopping you. The descent goes down the back of the mountain on its own road, fast, and you can freewheel the whole way at well over 60 km/h. You rejoin the loop at 5.3 km. KB, your riding companion, takes the turn-off with you, climbs and descends near you, and comes back onto the loop with you.
The Col's distance and climbing count toward your ride, your baguettes, your .fit file and Strava. A lap with a Col in it doesn't count as your best lap of the loop.
Climbing with friends
Ride along with a friend and you follow them onto the Col; in the last 150 m before the turn-off you sit just behind them so you see them turn. On the climb itself everyone rides on their own legs, so a group splits up and meets again at the top. See riding with friends and your club. Chat, reactions and kudos know where riders really are on the climb, and the riders list shows real gaps to riders on the loop.
For training, Col Simulation in the workout library is a 50-minute threshold session built for a climb like this one.
Try it without a trainer
The demo lets you climb the Col du Pain with a simulated trainer: the arrow keys or minus and plus set your watts. Demo times stay off the leaderboard.
Questions
How long is the Col du Pain?
The timed climb is 974 m long and gains 73 m, an average of 7.5%. The steepest part is a 9.5% kick near the top.
When does the weekly leaderboard reset?
Every Monday at 00:00 Amsterdam time. The all-time board keeps every climb.
How do I get the polka-dot jersey?
Set the fastest time of the week on the Col. The jersey moves to whoever beats it, and other riders see it on you within half a minute.
Does my smart trainer get harder on the Col?
No. The gradient changes your speed in the game, but the trainer feels flat. Your time depends on the watts you push.
Why isn't my time on the leaderboard?
You need to be signed in and riding with a trainer or power meter. Demo rides don't count.
Is the Col du Pain free?
Yes. Tour du Pain is free through 2027, everything included. It runs on donations.
