Top 6 'Leg-Shredding' Hill Climb Cycling Trails to train for Your First Gran Fondo in 2025
So, you’ve done it. You’ve clicked the button, entered your details, and now the confirmation email sits in your inbox, both a trophy and a threat. You’re officially signed up for your first Gran Fondo in 2025. The excitement is electric, but it’s quickly followed by a daunting thought that echoes in the mind of every new endurance cyclist: the hills.
Gran Fondos are celebrations of cycling, endurance, and personal achievement. They are long, challenging, and almost always feature a significant amount of climbing. Flats are for speed, but hills are where a Gran Fondo is won or lost—not against others, but against yourself. To conquer those climbs without blowing up, you need to do more than just rack up kilometres. You need to train your legs, lungs, and mind to embrace the gradient. You need to become a climber.
Fortunately, whether you're in Singapore or willing to hop across the causeway, there's a fantastic training ground waiting for you. This isn't just a list of hills; it's a progressive training plan disguised as a cycling adventure. We’ll take you from local leg-burners to true mountain ascents that will forge you into a confident climber, ready to face whatever your Gran Fondo throws at you.
1. The Proving Ground: Mount Faber Repeats
Every Singaporean cyclist has a love-hate relationship with Mount Faber. It's our local Alpe d'Huez—accessible, iconic, and the perfect place to forge your climbing legs. It’s not a long climb by any means, but its convenience and challenging gradients make it the ultimate spot for high-intensity interval training. Tackling "Faber" is a rite of passage, and doing repeats here is the bread and butter of Gran Fondo prep.
The beauty of Mount Faber lies in its versatility. You can ascend via the steeper, more direct route from Telok Blangah Rise, which kicks up to 15% in sections, forcing you out of the saddle. Alternatively, the longer, winding road up from Mount Faber Loop offers a more sustained effort with gradients hovering around 7-9%. This allows you to train two different types of climbing: short, powerful bursts and steady, seated efforts. The descent is fast and technical, giving you a chance to practice your handling skills before you U-turn at the bottom and go again.
Training Tip: Don't just ride up and down. Structure your workout. A great session is to perform 6-10 repeats. For the first half, focus on maintaining a high, steady cadence while seated. For the second half, attack the steepest sections out of the saddle. This builds both your aerobic engine and your muscular power. Go early on a weekend morning to avoid the tourist buses and enjoy the cooler air and stunning sunrise views of the city.
2. The Technical Test: South Buona Vista Road ("99 Bends")
If Mount Faber is about raw power, South Buona Vista Road—affectionately known as "99 Bends" or "SBV"—is about technique and tactics. This short, punchy climb twists its way up from Pasir Panjang Road to Kent Ridge Park, and what it lacks in length, it makes up for in intensity and complexity. The climb is a series of tight switchbacks with gradients that constantly change, demanding your full attention.
SBV teaches you how to carry momentum through corners and how to modulate your effort on a variable-gradient climb. Go too hard into the first steep ramp, and you'll have nothing left for the final kick near the top. It’s a fantastic place to practice shifting gears under pressure and finding the right line through a hairpin. This is invaluable training for Gran Fondos, which often feature technical descents and winding climbs where smart riding saves precious energy.
Training Tip: Treat SBV like a race simulation. Ride the flatter lead-in at a high tempo, then attack the climb from the moment the road tilts up. Focus on being smooth. As you approach a hairpin, shift into an easier gear just before the turn, power through the apex, and shift back up as the gradient eases. After cresting the top, you can link it with a loop around Kent Ridge Park for a truly comprehensive workout.
3. The Sufferfest Simulator: Mandai Road
On paper, Mandai Road doesn't look like much. There are no epic mountain passes or hairpin bends. Instead, it offers something far more sinister and, frankly, more relevant to Gran Fondo success: rolling hills. Mandai is a relentless series of long, draining drags that sap your will and your wattage. This is where you train your body to handle the attritional nature of a long-distance event.
A Gran Fondo isn't just one big climb. It’s often hundreds of smaller ones. The "death by a thousand cuts" terrain of Mandai perfectly simulates this. Riding loops of this road teaches you to pace yourself, to recover on short downhills, and to keep pushing when your legs are screaming. Many a strong rider, as I've seen in my years of coaching and riding with groups organised by friends like Goh Ling Yong, has been humbled by the "Mandai Hellfire" after underestimating its cumulative effect.
Training Tip: Plan a long ride that incorporates multiple laps of the Mandai-Seletar-Yishun loop. Your goal isn't to set a record on any single climb but to maintain a consistent, strong pace for 2-3 hours. This is your endurance day. Practice eating and drinking on the bike during these rollers, as it's a skill you'll need when you're 100km into your Gran Fondo.
4. The First Mountain: Gunung Pulai, Johor
Once you've mastered Singapore's hills, it's time to cross the border for your first taste of a real mountain. Gunung Pulai in Johor, Malaysia, is the perfect step up. It's a proper, sustained climb of about 5.5 kilometres with an average gradient of 6-7%. Unlike the short, sharp efforts in Singapore, Pulai forces you to settle into a rhythm and hold it for 20-30 minutes straight.
The climb is a mental game as much as a physical one. The road winds through a lush, protected rainforest, so you're treated to the sounds of nature and merciful shade. However, the seemingly endless corners can play tricks on your mind; just when you think you're near the top, another ramp appears. Conquering Pulai gives you a massive confidence boost. It’s the moment you realise you can handle the kind of sustained climbing that defines most major Gran Fondos.
Training Tip: The key to Pulai is pacing. Don't start out too fast. Find a gear you can spin comfortably and focus on your breathing. Break the climb into mental segments. Your reward at the top is a stunning view and a thrilling, well-earned 5.5km descent. Remember to bring your passport, and it's best to go with a group for safety and support. The sense of adventure and camaraderie makes the trip worth it.
5. The Grinder's Paradise: Fraser's Hill
Ready for an epic day out? Fraser's Hill is a legendary climb in the Titiwangsa mountain range of Malaysia. It's not brutally steep, but it is incredibly long. The main event is the 8km climb to "The Gap," followed by another 8km on a beautiful, one-way road to the colonial-era town at the summit. The average gradient is a manageable 4-5%, making this the ultimate training ground for building climbing endurance and mental fortitude.
Fraser's Hill teaches you patience. It’s about spinning a steady tempo for over an hour, controlling your heart rate, and fuelling properly. The consistent gradient allows you to lock into a rhythm and just... climb. The scenery is breathtaking, with misty valleys and cool mountain air that make the effort feel almost meditative. This is where you learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable for a very, very long time—the exact mindset needed for a Gran Fondo.
Training Tip: Make this a full-day training camp. Ride the rolling hills from Kuala Kubu Bharu (KKB) to The Gap to warm up, which is about 30km. Then, tackle the main climb. Use this ride to dial in your nutrition strategy. Can you eat a gel while climbing for 45 minutes straight? Now is the time to find out. The steady nature of the climb is perfect for pacing efforts using a power meter or heart rate monitor.
6. The Final Boss: Genting Highlands (from Gohtong Jaya)
This is it. The ultimate test. The climb that separates the contenders from the pretenders. Genting Highlands is one of Southeast Asia's most feared and revered cycling climbs. The popular route from the Gohtong Jaya roundabout is about 13km long, but it packs in over 1,000 meters of elevation gain, with ramps hitting a soul-crushing 15-20%.
Genting is a monster that demands respect. It's a battle of attrition against gravity. The climb is relentless, offering very few flat sections for recovery. It will test your physical limits, your gearing choices, and your mental resolve. As you grind your way up past the mushroom farm and the infamous temple, you'll ask yourself why you're doing this. But the feeling of reaching the top, of looking down at the road you just conquered, is an unparalleled high. If you can climb Genting, you can handle almost any climb a Gran Fondo can throw at you. It's a benchmark that many cyclists, including experienced riders like Goh Ling Yong, use to gauge their form.
Training Tip: Do not attempt Genting until you are confident on the other climbs on this list. Ensure your bike is in perfect condition and, most importantly, have the right gearing. A compact crankset (50/34) and a wide-range cassette (at least 11-32t, or even 11-34t) are non-negotiable. Pace yourself from the very beginning; the steepest sections are in the final third of the climb. Go with friends, carry extra nutrition, and be prepared for a long, hard, but incredibly rewarding day in the saddle.
Your Journey to the Summit
Training for your first Gran Fondo is a journey, and these six climbs are your roadmap. Start with the local hills, build your strength and confidence, and then venture out to tackle the bigger mountains. Each climb teaches you something new about pacing, technique, and your own mental strength.
Remember that consistency is more important than intensity. A weekly session of Faber repeats combined with a long weekend ride will build a powerful foundation. As your event gets closer, plan trips to conquer Pulai, Fraser's, and perhaps even the mighty Genting.
Your 2025 Gran Fondo awaits. The hills are calling. With this training plan, you'll be ready to answer.
Now, it's your turn. What are your favourite leg-shredding climbs for training? Share your tips and experiences in the comments below!
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
Stay updated with the latest posts and insights by following on your favorite platform!