Asturias·Spain
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · Wikimedia Commons
Asturias holds the hardest climbs in professional cycling in a small green region: the leg-breaking Angliru with its 23% ramps, the iconic Lagos de Covadonga into the Picos, and empty inland passes.
In season: May–Sep · Peak: Jun–Aug
Steep, sustained climbing on quiet roads in green, often wet mountains; the Angliru is as hard as road cycling gets. Summer is driest, though the weather turns fast.
Long quiet climb inland, no traffic at all
The steepest climb in professional cycling, 23% ramps
The Vuelta's most famous finish, up into the Picos
Base in Oviedo or the Picos foothills and pick off the climbs day by day; bring low gears for the Angliru. Roads are quiet but the gradients are savage.
CyclingFrance
The Route des Grandes Alpes: 700 kilometres and sixteen passes from Lake Geneva to the sea.
CyclingAustria
The most ridden long-distance cycle route in Europe and the template every other one copies.
CyclingSpain
Sa Calobra and Cap de Formentor — the Serra de Tramuntana, the pro peloton's winter base.
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