Here’s to hoping the daredevils that will be taking part in the 2020 edition of the Andler / Schonberg Hill Climbing race, aka The Impossible Climb, have been spending their time in isolation training.
The Impossible Climb, also known as Impossible Climb Andler, is famous for not having a single winner during any of its previous 20 editions. As its name implies, it is an impossible hill climb in Belgium, one that has not seen one single biker cross the finish line to be declared winner.
Common sense says that, if you do the same thing over and over again and get the same disappointing results, maybe a different approach is in order. With this hill climb race, there is no other approach possible, and the daredevils risking their lives year after year are motivated by one of the strongest and most basic human motivators: the urge to overcome. And bragging rights, but that goes without saying.
This year, despite the still-ongoing international health crisis, the race is still happening. The 21st edition is scheduled to take place in August, but the date might be subject to change, according to the official website. Considering it’s an outdoor event, maintaining social distance should not be an issue.
The video below is a compilation of some of the attempts – all of them fails – at getting across the finish line from last year. It shows exactly what makes this hill climb race impossible: it’s not so much the angle of the climb, as it’s the combination of loose gravel and hard rock, and the sudden change of track, that sends bikers flying off.
It also shows that, while the climb attempt is incredibly challenging, so is getting out of the way of the bike as it’s flying past riders on the way down the slope.
Apparently, one Suzuki rider was able to almost get across the finish line in 2019 but didn’t ultimately qualify because only his front wheel made it past. In the video, you can also see a bike flying past the same finish line, but the rider was no longer on it, having been thrown off. As the saying goes – and applies to both these instances – so close, yet so far.
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