Pure Climbers: A Closer Look at the KOMs ⋆ CyclingScoop

In professional road racing, no rider type might capture the imagination quite like the pure climber.

After all, sprinters own the flat finishes, and all-rounders dominate the general classification. But when the road tilts sharply up into the Alps or Pyrenees, a different kind of athlete takes over… one whose entire physicality is built for the single purpose of going uphill faster than anyone else.

So what exactly makes someone a “pure climber?” How do they fit into the broader landscape of modern professional cycling? Let’s take a look.

Pure climbers have a distinct physical profile.

The defining metric for climbing is power-to-weight ratio, measured in watts per kilogram or W/kg.

Think about it like this: two riders might produce the same raw power output, but the lighter one will climb faster because they’re moving less mass against gravity. This is why climbing specialists tend to be among the smallest athletes in professional sport. Many weigh between 52–63kg, or roughly 115–139 lbs).

Historically, riders like Marco Pantani and Lucien Van Impe embodied this more “featherweight” archetype. Today, riders like Lenny Martinez of Bahrain Victorious (who weighs barely 52kg) carry that tradition forward.

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Not all pure climbers use the same strategy while racing.

Within the climbing category itself, two distinct styles have emerged, that is explosive or consistent climbers.

Explosive climbers might attack in short, sharp bursts on the steepest sections of a climb. They thrive on unpredictability… launching accelerations that force rivals to respond repeatedly until someone cracks. Interval training must really come in handy here!

Alternatively, strong consistent climbers won’t attack. Instead, these riders set a relentless high tempo up the mountain that ends up gradually wearing everyone else down. Over a 20-kilometer pass, it might be less flashy, but equally effective.

What’s the difference between a pure climber and a GC rider?

This is one of the most common points of confusion for newer fans.

Every Grand Tour winner, like Tadej Pogačar or Jonas Vingegaard, climbs at an elite level. But not every elite climber can win a Grand Tour.

Why is this exactly?

Time trials play a part in a GC win. Grand Tours almost always include multiple individual time trials, which reward raw power output a bit more than your average climb. For flat TTs, heavier, more muscular riders have an advantage. A pure climber, with their small frame, can lose three to four minutes in a single 30km time trial… this is a gap that even exceptional mountain legs can’t always recover.

The three-week endurance factor matters over the course of a Grand Tour. Winning a race like the Tour de France requires surviving 21 stages without losing significant time, even on flat, windy days where the peloton takes a beating. Lightweight climbers are physically vulnerable in crosswind situations; they can literally be pushed off their line by gusts that heavier riders shrug off easily. Losing two minutes to a split in the wind on what is supposed to be a “transition stage” between two harder stages can effectively end overall GC ambitions, sometimes before the mountains even arrive.

What goals do pure climbers target?

For pure climbers, then, the goals can shift to something more suited to their talents. Instead of targeting the lowest cumulative time, they might target:

Mountain stage wins (particularly a prestigious “Queen stage” that could finish at iconic summits like Alpe d’Huez in the Tour de France or Hautacam in La Vuelta)
The King of the Mountains (KOM) jersey (this is awarded to the rider who accumulates the most points at designated mountain summits throughout the race, a feat which is more attainable for pure climbers)

While pure climbers aren’t cut out to win GC, they have plenty of talent for winning mountain stages, and even collecting the polka dot jersey for their efforts.

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Who are the best pure climbers of the peloton in 2026?

The current era is admittedly complicated by the existence of Pogačar and Vingegaard, two riders who climb as well as any specialist.

Below that tier, though, several riders still represent the classic climbing archetype:

Sepp Kuss (Visma Lease a Bike)

This American rider is a clear example of a pure climber in today’s peloton. The “Eagle of Durango” won the 2023 Vuelta a España, but much of his career has been spent as a super-domestique for Jonas Vingegaard. Kuss is a top-tier climber who sacrifices his own results to support teammates, but his ability to accelerate on gradients above 10% while appearing barely exerted tells the whole story. His riding style is precisely what the pure climbing archetype is all about!

Richard Carapaz (EF Education EasyPost)

Carapaz is a textbook explosive climber. The Ecuadorian rarely waits for a summit sprint, because he prefers long-range attacks that put him on the advantage from the start. His King of the Mountain win at the 2024 Tour de France reflects a rider who targets the peaks, not necessarily the overall standings… although he’s also pulled off some GC wins in his career, too.

Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek)

This guy is a throwback to some of the old-school Italian climbers, right? He’s lightweight and aggressive, and has targeted the polka-dot KOM jersey at both the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia in recent years.

Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious)

As mentioned before, Martinez shows us why the biggest archetype of climbers (that is, small size) still holds in the present day. At 52kg, he’s one of the tiniest riders in the professional peloton… but his climbing can really pack a punch. With a recent win against Jonas Vingegaard, Martinez continues to show us that he’s a climber to watch, and that his advantage can grow the higher and steeper the road gets!

Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates)

This might seem like an unusual shoutout considering his GC success, but be warned. Del Toro is the most promising newcomer for climbing in recent years. His physiological profile seems almost entirely mountain-oriented. Plus, for now, his performances on long, sustained climbs suggest his ceiling is extremely high.

Riding in support of Pogačar at the 2026 Tour de France, will we see him target KOM points for himself?

Why pure climbers still matter.

It’s fair to ask: in an era of “all rounders” who seem to win everything, is there still room for the specialist?

The answer is yes… and the role has actually grown more tactically interesting.

For example, pure climbers are now more often integrated into “mountain trains,” working as the pace-setters who push the tempo and shatter the peloton. Sepp Kuss, for instance, spent years launching attacks to protect Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard before winning a Grand Tour himself. When the best climbers are controlling the pace, how can the rest of the pack keep up? Short answer: they really can’t.

The pure climber isn’t at risk of disappearing in the future, either. They’ve just become more precise in their team’s strategy. They might be deployed at altitude, in thin air, on gradients that expose weaknesses in a rival’s preparation, to support their own team leader. Or, just like in the past, they might be going for a win of their own.