"It’ll be sad if I lose my Alpe d’Huez QOM, but I’ll come back and try again" - European hill climb champion Illi Gardner eyes next year's Tour de France Femmes

European hill climb champion Illi Gardner is fearful of losing her two-year-old Strava QOM on Alpe d’Huez. And rightfully so, because the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will feature the mythical climb next summer.

Gardner set the QOM for the 12km segment in June 2021, clocking 44 minutes and five seconds, with an average speed of 16.5km/h. Her chances of still holding it next August, she told Cycling Weekly, have now become slimmer.

"My QOM is definitely not safe," the 24-year-old laughed. "It depends on how they ride it, really. If they go full gas from the bottom, then I’m obviously in serious danger. If they play some games or pace it easier at the bottom, then it depends how the race goes."

"When I rode it, I was on my threshold the entire way up," said Gardner, who described the effort as "21 bends of pain. It was just about how much I could suffer, because it’s never an easy gradient. It’s tough all the way," she continued.

"I think it’s really exciting," she said. "It’ll be sad if I lose my Alpe d’Huez QOM, but I’ll have to go back one day and try again. It will give me some motivation."