Alto de Porciles o San Roque

Overview

Alto de Porciles o San Roque is an 11 km category 2 ascent that lifts you from a base of 130 m to a summit at 633 m. On paper it reads as a moderate day out: an average gradient of 4.55% and a net elevation gain of 503 m over the full distance. But averages flatten the truth. The total ascent of 502 m is packed into steep pitches broken by kinder stretches, and a maximum gradient of 13.78% waits somewhere on the road to remind you that a category 2 label is earned, not given.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The gap between the 4.55% average and the 13.78% maximum is the whole story of this climb. A road that truly held 4.55% for 11 km would be a rhythm climb, the kind you spin over without drama. This one does not. To average that number while spiking above 13%, the profile has to give something back, which means the effort arrives in waves: shallow sections where you recover, steep sections where you pay.

That structure makes Porciles o San Roque a punchy climb rather than a steady one. The 502 m of total ascent almost exactly matches the 503 m net gain, so there is little or no descending mid-climb to reset your legs — you simply keep gaining altitude, harder in places, easier in others, all the way to 633 m.

Pacing Notes

Treat the average as a lie and the max as the warning. Riders who pace to 4.55% get shelled the moment the road tips toward 13.78%, so keep effort, not speed, as your anchor.

Anchor your effort to your FTP. On a climb like this, aim to sit just below threshold on the shallow ramps so you have headroom to absorb the steep pitches without redlining. If you do not know your current number, run the FTP estimator before you go so your targets reflect real watts rather than a guess.

The smart tactic is to let the shallow sections do the recovering. Spin them slightly easier than feels necessary, bank the freshness, then spend it on the double-digit ramps. Fighting to hold a fixed speed across the whole 11 km is how you blow before the 633 m summit.

Gearing

For 11 km at 4.55% average with pitches touching 13.78%, gearing is your friend. A compact 34-tooth inner chainring paired with a wide cassette gives you the range to keep cadence up when the road rears.

A 34×32 is the sensible minimum here — enough to survive the steep ramps without grinding to a crawl. If you weigh more, are carrying fatigue, or simply prefer to spin, a 34×34 buys extra insurance for the 13.78% sections and lets you protect your legs across the full climb. There is no penalty for the easier gear on a climb defined by its spikes.

Summary

Alto de Porciles o San Roque rewards riders who respect the shape of the road rather than its average. Pace to effort, gear low, and save something for the steep pitches on the way to 633 m.

Length: 11 km
Average gradient: 4.55%
Max gradient: 13.78%
Start: 130 m
Summit: 633 m
Net gain: 503 m
Total ascent: 502 m
Category: 2