The physics of “everesting” on a bicycle

Among cycling enthusiasts the word “everest” has also become a verb over the last few years. “To everest” means going up and down the same hill or mountain until the elevation of Mount Everest (8848 m) has been accumulated in the course of the repeated ascents. It has been suggested that considerable advantage can be obtained by having a strong tailwind on the climbs. We make a quantitative assessment and show that the effect of a tailwind is small. Using control coefficients, we furthermore assess how factors such as weight reduction, increased power output, and improved aerodynamics can enhance the performance.