Can A Super Climber Set A New Record On This Epic Tour De France Climb?

[@gcn]

What other epic climbs should Illi take on next? 🏔 Let us know in the comments below! 👇

[@letmein218]

Jabel Hafeet

[@Ninja_Revenge]

Come to Japan😊

[@alfredongos]

Basically, she can go through whatever is listed as epic and iconic in any of the professional circuits.

[@HYP3RK1NECT]

A Lagunillas en el Cajón del Maipo. Creo que es un poco mas difícil que el Tourmalet.

[@watchthai]

Colle Fauniera from Demonte, NW Italy. Climb 15miles (24.7kms, 5560ft (1700m) up into beautiful wild mountain country, topping out at 2481m, max gradient 12.4%, 7% average and a Marco Pantani statue at the top. Absolutley epic. Took me 3hrs 05, (age 66!)

[@Mincher]

External cables, rim brakes, shallow rims, regular bars, gilet flapping yet still an absolute rocketship! Amazing!

[@matthewpodmore1823]

an amzing person - loved her unassuming nature - what a talent! Great videos as ever

[@Alpenmagier]

i mean all these things dont rly make a diffrence on the climb

[@parenthlete]

It’s a climb as trumps weight and stopping power doesn’t matter too much Take that same bike on the descent vs a modern super bike to see the compromises Not that it matters much

[@DaveCM]

@@Alpenmagier As fast as she was going for a lot of it, a bit more aero would have saved her more time.

[@theworkethic]

@@DaveCMcorny

[@Biggsy76]

Ollie would be crying watching Illi riding with a parachute flapping in the wind! Amazing effort Illi!

[@inz_uzi]

Not to mention the loose jersey... 😂

[@simonsepic]

I expect ollies maths on time lost

[@mathewrose2951]

@@simonsepic Same. I come for the cycling content, but I stay for Olli's maths.

[@ryuujinusa]

@@inz_uzi Dunno how small a jersey she would need for it to not be loose. She must weigh 40kg.

[@gcn]

He'd still get dropped though 😉

[@kevinhoffmann3713]

I really appreciate GCN making an effort to show more females and female achievements recently. nicely done.

[@knitrundig4663]

Illi is so quiet and unassuming and completely awesome, would love to see more of her.

[@budbud2509]

Yeah a female Andrew Feather !! Great ride !!

[@gcn]

Like an assassin, effortlessly stealing the QOM's!

[@GoustiFruit]

@@gcn You don't steal what you deserve.

[@janetfischer9779]

@@budbud2509 or is Feather a male Illi Gardner...

[@budbud2509]

@@janetfischer9779 Excellent point !! Feather has done a lot stuff with GCN and it would be a pleasure to see Illi Gardner do more on this channel , Im sure there is a interest in it .

[@sekc-chua]

I would love to see Illi Gardner and Andrew Feather ride together. Either competing, or a social ride up a mountain. They would/could each better the KOM and QOM times of their own. Please, make this happen.

[@gcn]

That sounds like an awesome idea! Sounds like one our presenters might take a pass on though 😅 In the meantime, why not check our Feather and some more of the world's best climbers in our 'KOM hunters' film on GCN+ 👉 gcn.eu/KOM

[@ridders]

In 2008 I climbed it twice. It took 3 hours each time (start in Bagneres de Bigorre), stopping 5 times on the way up to avoid passing out. I trained for a full year before doing it, using the Pendle hills, and I was still blowing outta my hole 😆chapeau Illi 🏅

[@skippervevo8441]

😅😅😅. You are a legend 😂

[@andrewmcalister3462]

Truly awesome effort Illi. Taking 4 minutes off the QOM is incredible! 💪

[@budbud2509]

Yeah amazing effort , That east side is the hardest climb Ive ever done ( Etape du Tour ) there is always the west side and the Hautacam just down the road , Hors category as well . The descent down the west side all the way to the Hautacam is amazing

[@gcn]

So impressive! If you want to know more about the Tourmalet climb, we made a film about it on GCN+ 👉 gcn.eu/Tourmalet

[@TheYBlizzard]

Great to see Illi. 8 years ago I met a 15 year old on an SJBC team ride. When I saw her ready to attack at the top of highway 9 climb I knew this was special. Great job, Illi.

[@Peter-Warton]

She's a climbing phenomena! I really admire how she decided she didn't want to be a pro racer, and now just goes and does these QOMs, obliterating the times of the fastest climbers in the world!

[@gcn]

A true humble cyclist! Shall we get her back on the channel for more challenges!

[@k1mfor]

She is a pro racer though

[@Peter-Warton]

@@k1mfor she does hill climb races, but she's no longer on a team and she doesn't do any other racing. She wrote about it in her most recent Everesting blog post.

[@Peter-Warton]

@@gcn definitely!

[@RaymondOlgado0]

@gcn that's not even a question!

[@Jari1973]

Thank you for the video! Nice bike.. rim brakes.. no internal cables 👍

[@bryngriffith]

So proud that Ilii represents Wahoo Le Col Race Team. Illi is a wonderful young lady, and her accomplishments are utterly amazing.

[@user-zu6qn9ux9n]

Illi is a machine and a very humble person!!

[@jerrylee7737]

Illi is a wonderfully humble person. I wish her all the best in life and may she do well in the sport she loves.

[@secretbrad9259]

Looking at the blokes face as she blasts past @ 0700! Priceless! What an awesome lady! Great video

[@238949]

Looked like he was standing still, great power

[@gcn]

Left in her wake!

[@davidspelich8369]

I imagined he was me because that'd be my reaction. Like... wtf yo, are you even human? Massively impressive, she's incredible.

[@bellbrass]

Incredible climb from Illi...she is one of the best climbers ever to the sport. And she smashed a very good time on this climb. Manon was great as the host!

[@cjpshawe]

Insane w/kg! Imagine what she could do without a parachute!

[@russellspeight5175]

Exactly the same would be my guess.

[@gcn]

Would she have an unfair advantage without it? 😅

[@veganpotterthevegan]

​@@russellspeight5175that vest took away a lot of time

[@kcn5723]

Flying without a parachute can be dangerous 🙃

[@russellspeight5175]

@@veganpotterthevegan after 8000+ qom's I think she's realised it makes no difference.

[@andrewhayes1339]

You have to admire the incredible mental strength of people like Illi & Andrew Feather. I myself find Cycling on the flat with minimal hills mentally challenging at times. But to want to take on these climbs let alone try & beat them is truly amazing 👍

[@2011hwalker]

i mean she is built for mountain climbs, she is painfully thin to be honest.

[@faldocool1996]

8060 qom’s and still humble in the way she wasn’t sure the record time would stand 😮😂

[@lorenzom7237]

must be a boring life... I wish I had one like that...

[@gcn]

It's quite the resume!

[@oscarcantu2642]

Never been to Europe or ridden my bike up a mountain but I can imagine what it would be like to finally travel to Europe, ride my Scott Foil up a mountain and see this young lady just fly by me so effortlessly as I’m desperately looking for more gears 😂 what an amazing athlete she is, very inspirational. I hope I can climb like her one day 😊

[@richm.3477]

Congratulations, Illi! Phenomenal job! If Simon had been attempting this challenge, at 9:07 he would have turned around and grabbed a KoM for the descent!

[@orbeuniversity]

This was an awesome effort. Try to get Illi on more GCN videos. On a separate note, the video editor(s) for GCN are incredibly good. The combination of great uplifting soundtracks, camera angles, etc; there should be a movie based on this climb. After watching every GCN video, I feel like cancelling all my appointments for the day and just go cycling.

[@timvmarrewijk]

Amazing, what a incredible ride of Illi! Also really funny to be the person who did reach the top of the Tourmalet at the exact same time in this video: 9:35 - 9:38 @GCN thanks for this shot!😍

[@CRoadbuck]

Absolutely crushed it! She was so humble about it as well.

[@mansakonko7777]

That was a stunning performance Illi!! And trimming 5 mins off the previous QOM...wow. I would love to see Illi and Emma P ride the Tourmalet as a pair, taking turns to lead and draft. Now that would be something to see. 🎉

[@gcn]

A QOM relay race... now that sounds amazing 🙌

[@mansakonko7777]

@@gcn ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@palicar]

Big shout out to Emma Pooley! I remember her Psychological Warfare video. Classic!

[@chriswintermute1518]

Agree with the last post. Truly superhuman with her cape flying in the wind and nearly too big of a jersey. Faster yet with a skin suit. Fantastic work.

[@gcn]

She's a climbing superhero that's for sure! Flying up the climb 🚀

[@ballroomdru]

Great effort. It was good to hear Emma Pooley’s name again.

[@jtmuso]

This is the video of the year. Thanks to Illi 🤘

[@racijajsc]

That was amazing, she is one of kind. Very impressive, keep going girl, you inspired me a lot. You are fast and humble! 😊

[@oneilwolfe407]

Incredible QOM amazing effort, so humble would love to see more from Illi with Manon ❤

[@denmarboniceli]

Illi Gardner + Andrew Feather collaboration video with GCN would be absolutely awesome

[@gcn]

Not sure the camera would be able to keep up! 👀

[@The_VietnAmerican]

She is so humble! ❤

[@mikekent9488]

I love this. Thanks for sharing. Great talking about Emma as well

[@bikingchupei2447]

2:37 dang, just looked up strava, segment ID is 1804776, Emma Pooley's record was set way back in 2014, took almost 10 years for it to be broken.

[@lionelbrink]

Not only is Ille an amazing athlete, she also managed to evade the wild animal attack at 9:09:-)

[@saubloederkerl9295]

Great effort, Illi! Watching her dancing up that mountain with ease, leaving all riders effortless behind, wearing a parachute on an average bike, ant taking the QOM by more than 4 minutes is evidence for the unbeatable truth: "The machine is sitting on the bike!" 💪👍

[@andrewta55]

Love this - what a legend! Such humility!

[@asterixinbritainsteve8868]

This was great. We need to see a bit more of Illi and maybe with better production. Something similar to the production on Andrew Feather’s attempt at Alpe D’Huez. Chapeau Illi you absolutely nailed it.

[@Real28]

It's wild to watch. Illi has no quads proving that even a climb isn't as much about power as youd think. It's still about cardio and how fast you can clear the lactate from your system. Her cadence is just so freaking constant, it's inhuman. 4min? Lord. She'll have that one for a long time.

[@gcn]

She's so impressive!

[@JMcLeodKC711]

Rim brakes, 2x drive train…..I bet those are tubulars

[@Pandametal_]

old school, and yet so effective

[@dalis994]

OMG, thank you for introducing me such an incredible person!

[@chrisupton4244]

Illi you are a legend! That was amazing🎉

[@Kim_Miller]

What a beast of a ride. Illi is fantastic, and obviously an alien. 🙂Watching her zoom past the other riders had me laughing out loud.

[@gcn]

Her climbing skills are certainly out of this world 👽 Where should we send her next?

[@jasonsteven1969]

​@@gcnthe mighty zoncolon...

[@SupernovaRallyteam]

Love this and Illi is just amazing 🤩 British hill climb champ and lots of qom’s but there’s a part of me thinking strava segments or being a hill climb champ doesn’t pay the bills, she needs to get into the pro peloton and excel on those grand tour mountain top finishes!

[@John64125]

She made that look so easy. Wow! Fantastic effort.

[@Ninja_Revenge]

Climbers have my most respect.

[@kirkland5000]

Wow! absolute machine. Hats off to you all, what a tough climb.

[@gcn]

It certainly is a tough climb! Why not learn more about it in our 'Tourmalet' film on GCN+ 👉 gcn.eu/Tourmalet

[@JSC131]

Unbeatable effort awesome Illi brilliant ride.

[@RaymondOlgado0]

What a queen! Chapeau, Illi!

[@StoccTube]

That’s impressive, in 2019 that would have been a top 10 all time climb from the stats I saw on line (7th), with 1st being a 51min at the time held by a tour rider. Far out she’s fast!

[@djrlloyd]

Wow that was amazing. Incredible riding Illi. 🤩🤩 Good job Si wasn’t doing that attempt, the cow in the road would have stopped him in his tracks. 😂😂

[@gcn]

Even if the cow was chasing him I doubt Si would've been able to keep up! 🐄

[@thomasb.4219]

👍👍👍 The Tourmalet is absolutely fantastic

[@bobcrabtree5096]

Awesome video and awesome effort!! Would love to see Illi and Manon take on some challenges together, or some epic rides!!

[@IanHulme]

Absolute world class climber! Imagine if she got an aero setup as well.

[@MelHyde]

Omg illi this is awesome! So proud of you!

[@jw3638]

She would pass me like I was standing still. Definitely a watt/kg monster. Great job! 💪 4mins! Crazy

[@gcn]

She's an absolute rocket! 🚀

[@hugomundo4826]

You don't need a rocketship bike, you just need to BE THE ROCKET. Awesome climbing!

[@janwillemkuilenburg7561]

Incredible! At those speeds I guess further aero benefits could bring it to even higher stellar levels.

[@gcn]

I reckon taking over 4 minutes off the QOM is good enough 😂

[@NUFCrichard]

Did her open gilet help her in some way on the climb?

[@tucniak111]

​@@NUFCrichardsure, the Wahoo logo on the jersey was visible 😂

[@gerrysecure5874]

She has the right tactics. If you want to be fast you must put in power above average when your speed is below average to minimize the time you are relatively slow. At the speed she climbs it might even be advanteous to drop the parachute jacket.

[@Alan_Hans__]

Wow. What an absolute athlete. Looks to only weigh about 5kg but she can certainly climb like and absolute beast. Any idea who come second in the Strava stakes and with how many?

[@gcn]

I'm sure Andrew Feather is up there! Have you seen the film we made on GCN+ about his Everesting attempt? 👉 gcn.eu/8848m

[@noobcyclist1017]

Hearing emma's name brings nostalgia moments. Special when she drops all gcn boys🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@The2808erik]

Rim brakes FTW !

[@phatrickmoore]

Epic QOM, absolutely crushed it 🔥 🔥 🚲 🚲 ❤

[@BertieBrink1]

Wow what an amazing effort! We need to see more of Illi doing climbs! This was super inspirational 8060 QOMs, just amazing.

[@janlindh3201]

Amazing effort!!💪💪

[@yules_3000]

Awesome vid! Thanks.

[@alicat749]

Great effort We should see more like this. Well done

[@gcn]

Have you seen our 'KOM hunters' film on GCN+? Where Feather and some other of the world's best climbers attempt to take the KOM up Alp d'Huez 👉 gcn.eu/KOM

[@JimKJeffries]

Thanks. She is awesome, amazing.

[@chrissygibssy]

Incredible! 💕👸🏻🏔️

[@julianamccaffree7925]

Watching this video makes me more excited to go out and climb some mountains!!

[@douglaspate9314]

More Illi please!

[@tomrengert1221]

Nice wahoo add

[@richcrompton6891]

Absolutely astounding! She was amazing! What an athlete!💪🏆🚴‍♀️

[@Doniyorbek_Turgunov]

Two sponsors in the video. 1. Wahoo Bolt. 2. Parachuting dhb vest. I do remember only dhb vest :)))

[@blrun129]

Wow, that was an amazing ride and how is it that we never have heard of her , 8060 QOM is beyond amazing

[@gcn]

Why not check out some more of the world's best climbers in our 'KOM hunters' film on GCN+ 👉 gcn.eu/KOM

[@GrouEEf]

Wow, with a parachute and in horrible conditions she smashed the record to bits. Chapeau.

[@gcn]

Incredible speed! 💨 Where should we send her next?

[@steffenandersensahl9443]

Way to go illi! That was super impressive.

[@gcn]

She's incredible!

[@happymystic9800]

Great video with two very pleasant protagonists.

[@theralphster8492]

Wow, what an impressive performance and she looked so fresh afterwards, so unassuming but clearly a gifted climber...

[@dougmcdougall3997]

What a talent, love to see what Illi's VO2 max would be .

[@catnip...]

Before someone brings it up, I'll say it. Her real time going across the line was 55.34- 👏👏 The time on her clock was after she had stopped and then stopped the clock! The camera showed 56.53, that was after she had stopped and then stopped the timer! Her real time was 55.34! 👍👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@randalclark6283]

​@@ryanterence471I had to check it out, I believe you were looking at the wrong segment. I found this one which matches what they said they were going for in the video. Tourmalet - Eastern Approach That has her at 55 and change

[@itscliffvtr]

Good to meet you in the bike shop in Argelès. We managed to do Tourmalet on the Friday, epic. @gcn

[@xosece]

this girls is incredible. And most amazingly she didn't ride out of the saddle for most of the time. She seems to be flying when in reality the climb is brutal. Great stuff. Which bike model does she use? It seems a bit of an unusual bike for modern standards.

[@martyc5674]

What an athlete!

[@shermer75]

Illi you machine! Loved that 🫡

[@gcn]

She was rapid!!! 🙌

[@johnk7431]

Fantastic.... Loved seeing a climber of such ability. I am like the old man she passed I had to laugh at the pained looks one guys face empathize with him.

[@Zzyyxx22]

Proof, I think, that some super hero’s do wear capes.

[@gcn]

🦸‍♀️

[@hungryrefrigerator5784]

Well done to the filming crew, the video was cinematic.

[@StephL8]

Loved seeing a talented women rider!! I wonder how much time she would have cut wearing more aero kit. Future opportunity

[@paulrobinson4987]

Awesome, imagine how much faster it would be with out the flapping vest. Exelent work.

[@chroniclesofalazyriderbyde9504]

Seriously strong climber. She looks so effortless going up. There is one solid big challenge in the Far East she can try.... Mt Wuling, Taiwan KOM.

[@lesflynn4455]

What an amazing mountain goat she is. Beating Pooley's time by 4:11 is incredible.

[@Patrick17-]

She is an absolute machine

[@nongnghiepxanh501]

Thanks GCN😊 , beautiful

[@BozoTheBear]

Champion!!

[@suzyj2312]

Wow! Well done Illi 💪🏻🔥🙌🏻

[@JareNijkamp]

Oh Manon long time no see, glad your still around

[@colinfisher2463]

Compare Andrew to Illi as KOM and QOM, Andrew has every last bit of weight saving going on on his bike, Illi has extra bottle gages, bar tape, rear light sensor's and the baggiest tops / gilet on yet made that look like a Sunday spin, amazing!

[@gcn]

Sounds like you're asking for a head to head 👀

[@quwers]

She has super light wheels though.

[@tonictones]

Awesome bike, surprised GCN didn't even glance at it.