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“Saturday, 16 September The last climbing stage of the Tour of Spain is a very special one. For the first time in history, the start is in Manzenares El Real, and the finish is only 22.5 kilometres away in Guadarrama. And indeed, after 22 kilometres the riders cross the finish village for the first time. However, they then have to cover another 185 kilometres on hilly roads before the stage is really over. The penultimate stage is very hilly. It is never particularly steep, but the riders will still have to overcome a total of over 4,300 metres in altitude. For the first time in Guadarrama, they already have their first climb behind them. The Collado del Portazgo. The summit is already reached after 12.8 race kilometres, and that means it's almost all uphill from the start. The Portazgo is 10.8 kilometres long and has an average gradient of 3.4%. After crossing Guadarrama, the route heads south, where there are some hilly sections. This starts with the Puerto de la Cruz Verde, a 7-kilometre climb with a 5% gradient. The maximum gradient is 9.1%. After the descent and about 10 kilometres of uneven road, the route continues to La Escondida. This means 9 kilometres uphill with an average gradient of 4.1 %. Until then, there were only category 3 climbs, but with the ascent to La Paradilla, the riders get an uncategorised hill in front of their wheels: 2.3 kilometres with 5.4 %. A similar climb, only shorter. La Paradilla is the prelude to the Alto de Santa María de la Alameda, a 5 kilometre climb with 5.6%. After a descent of less than 3 kilometres, the Alto de Robledondo awaits. This climb is 5.1 kilometres long and has an average gradient of 4.8%. The steepest part is 7.4%, so it's not a big deal in itself. But yes, that endless sequence, up, down, up, down.... The riders descend to Robledo de Chavela and repeat the loop with La Escondida, La Paradilla, Alto de Santa María de la Alameda and Alto de Robledondo. When they cross the Alto de Robledondo for the second time, there are still 60 kilometres to go. Again, the route goes downhill to Robledo de Chavela, but instead of turning right to La Escondida, it now goes left. Via an eastward turn, the riders again reach the foot of the second climb of the day, the Puerto de la Cruz Verde, only this time from a different side. This is a 7.2 kilometre climb at 3.9%. The route then leads back to Guadarrama on familiar roads. But this is not the end of the route, because there is one last loop that includes an extra climb, the Alto San Lorenzo de El Escorial. This has an average gradient of 6.6% over 4.6 kilometres, but what this figure doesn't tell you is that there are also some sections with double-digit gradients. In short, it is a treacherous and irregular route. The summit is 12.2 kilometres from the finish. These twelve kilometres start with a descent, and the last 7 kilometres are fairly flat. “ ( & Routes 'n' Maps 'n' Flags) Creating cycling stage animations requires a lot of work and computing power. You are welcome to support me with a donation:
