<P> Hors catégorie (HC) is a French term used in stage bicycle races to designate a climb that is "beyond categorization". The term was originally used for those mountain roads where cars were not expected to be able to pass . </P> <P> The HC climb is the most difficult type of climb in a race . It is more demanding than a Category 1 climb which in turn is more demanding than a Category 2 climb and so on . The easiest category is Category 4 . </P>

What does hc mean in tour de france