Alto de Los Cruces

Overview

Alto de Los Cruces is a compact but uncompromising category-2 ascent. Across just 5.1 km it drags you from a start elevation of 295 m up to a summit of 687 m, a net gain of 392 m over ground that never really lets up. The average gradient of 7.66% tells the honest story here: this is a sustained climb, not a rolling one, and there are precious few metres where you can sit up and recover. With a maximum pitch of 13.03%, the hardest ramps demand a real change of gear and a real change of effort. For a climb of this length, that combination of steady steepness and sharp spikes is what earns it the category-2 label, sitting a rung below the hors-catégorie and first-category monsters but well clear of the gentler 3s and 4s.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The defining number is 7.66%, and you should treat it as a floor rather than a ceiling. Over 5.1 km, an average that high means the road tilts up almost continuously, so the climb feels more like a single long effort than a series of distinct sectors. The gap between the 7.66% average and the 13.03% maximum is where the character lives: roughly five and a half percentage points of variation, enough that the steepest ramps hit noticeably harder than the baseline. Expect the profile to bite in pulses, where the gradient stiffens toward that low-teens maximum before easing back to something merely difficult. The net elevation gain of 392 m against a total ascent of 369 m confirms there is very little false flat or descent to break the rhythm — nearly all of your climbing is productive, upward work.

Pacing Notes

On a climb this steep and this short, pacing is about restraint at the bottom. The temptation is to attack the opening slopes while the legs feel fresh, but 5.1 km at 7.66% will punish anyone who overcooks the first kilometre. Anchor your effort to your FTP and aim to ride the sustained sections just below threshold, saving headroom for the 13.03% spikes where your power will naturally surge. If you do not know your current threshold, run the numbers through the FTP estimator before you plan your target. A well-paced ascent means arriving at the steepest ramps with something in reserve rather than already in the red.

Gearing

With a 7.66% average and pitches to 13.03%, generous gearing is not optional for most riders. A compact chainring paired with a wide-range cassette is the sensible baseline. A 34×32 will get many trained riders up the sustained sections at a workable cadence, but the moment the road hits the 13.03% maximum, that ratio can feel marginal. If you weigh more, ride less often, or simply prefer to spin, go to a 34×34 — the extra sprocket keeps your cadence out of the grinding zone on the hardest ramps and protects your knees over the full 392 m of climbing. When in doubt on a category-2 wall like this, err toward the easier gear.

Summary

Alto de Los Cruces is a short, steep, honest climb: 5.1 km that never pretends to be easy, averaging 7.66% and spiking to 13.03% as it lifts you 392 m to a 687 m summit. Pace the bottom, respect the ramps, and bring gearing you trust.

Length: 5.1 km
Average gradient: 7.66%
Max gradient: 13.03%
Start: 295 m
Summit: 687 m
Net gain: 392 m
Total ascent: 369 m
Category: 2