Alto del Cural

Overview

Alto del Cural is a category 1 ascent that packs a genuine day's worth of effort into a single sustained effort. Over 16 km the road lifts you from a valley floor at 233 m to a summit at 1331 m — a net gain of 1098 m, all of it earned in one direction. The average gradient of 6.86% tells only part of the story: this is a long, grinding climb whose real difficulty lies in how relentlessly it stays uphill. There are no valley respites here to bank recovery. With a total ascent that matches the net gain of 1098 m, every metre you climb is a metre you keep, and that consistency is exactly what makes it so taxing on the legs.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The headline number is the 6.86% average, but averages flatten the drama. What defines Alto del Cural is the spread between that average and its savage maximum of 36.23% — a wall so steep it borders on unrideable for most, demanding you be out of the saddle, weight forward, and fully committed. A pitch like that is more than five times steeper than the average, which means long stretches must sit comfortably below 6.86% to balance it out. Expect the climb to breathe: shallower ramps where you can settle into rhythm, punctuated by sharp kicks that force sudden bursts of power. Reading the road ahead matters. Bleed too much energy on the moderate sections and the steep ramps will punish you; save too much and you leave time on the mountain. Over 16 km, that constant negotiation between the 6.86% baseline and the 36.23% spikes is the puzzle you're solving.

Pacing Notes

The way to survive Alto del Cural is to treat it as a threshold effort, not a series of sprints. Anchor your climb to your FTP and hold a steady, sustainable output across the shallower kilometres, accepting that the 36.23% ramps will briefly send you well above threshold. Those surges are unavoidable — the trick is recovering your rhythm immediately afterward rather than staying redlined. If you don't know your threshold number, run it through the FTP estimator before you tackle a climb this long; guessing on a 16 km ascent with 1098 m of gain is how riders blow up two-thirds of the way to the 1331 m summit. Start conservatively. The climb rewards patience far more than it rewards early bravado.

Gearing

Gear for the wall, not the average. While 6.86% over 16 km is manageable on standard climbing gearing, the 36.23% maximum changes the calculation entirely. A compact chainring paired with a wide-range cassette is the minimum sensible setup: 34×32 will get most fit riders up the sustained sections, but for the steepest ramps — and to protect your legs across all 1098 m of ascent — 34×34 gives you the extra bailout you'll be grateful for. If your bike accepts it, err toward the easier ratio. Spinning a low gear up a 36.23% pitch beats grinding to a standstill.

Summary

Alto del Cural is a long, honest category 1 climb: 16 km of steady 6.86% gradient hiding one ferocious 36.23% wall, lifting you 1098 m from base to summit. Pace it to threshold, gear it for the steep ramps, and respect the distance.

Length: 16 km
Average gradient: 6.86%
Max gradient: 36.23%
Start: 233 m
Summit: 1331 m
Net gain: 1098 m
Total ascent: 1098 m
Category: 1