Coll de Ca l'Amigó

Overview

Coll de Ca l'Amigó is a category 3 climb that runs for 11.7 km, lifting you from a valley floor at 265 m to a summit at 717 m. On paper the numbers look gentle: an average gradient of 3.86% and a net elevation gain of 452 m. But averages hide the character of a climb, and this one has a personality worth reading before you commit. With a maximum pitch of 12.89%, the effort is far from uniform — the road saves its teeth for moments when you least expect them.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The key to Ca l'Amigó is understanding the gap between its 3.86% average and its 12.89% maximum. A climb that averaged near 4% at a constant grade would be a spinning tempo effort from bottom to top. Here, the presence of ramps more than three times steeper than the mean tells you the gradient is uneven — stretches of shallow, almost false-flat road are balanced by sharper kicks.

There is another clue in the numbers. The net elevation gain is 452 m, but the total ascent is 438 m. That 14 m difference points to short descending or flat sections woven into the climb, so you cannot simply settle into one rhythm and hold it. You climb, you ease, you climb again. Reading the road ahead matters more than raw wattage.

Pacing Notes

Because the effort is punchy rather than sustained, pacing is about protecting your legs for the steep bits. Aim to ride the shallow sections comfortably below your FTP, banking the freedom to surge over the 12.89% ramps without going deep into the red. Riders who hammer the flatter first kilometres usually pay for it when the gradient bites.

If you are not sure what your threshold is, run the FTP estimator before you plan your target power. Knowing that single number turns a guessing game into a strategy: hold the easy grades at a fraction below threshold, and allow short over-threshold spikes on the steepest pitches, trusting the flatter recovery zones to bring you back.

Gearing

A 3.86% average does not demand exotic gearing, but the 12.89% maximum absolutely does. On those ramps, a rider carrying too tall a bottom gear will be forced out of the saddle and into an anaerobic effort that wrecks the rest of the climb.

A compact chainring paired with a 34×32 bottom gear is a sensible baseline for most riders here — it gives enough range to spin the steep sections without grinding. If you climb at lower cadence, tire easily, or simply want insurance, step up to a 34×34. The extra sprocket costs you nothing on the shallow grades and buys real comfort when the road tilts toward 12.89%.

Summary

Coll de Ca l'Amigó rewards the rider who respects its uneven profile: easy on the flats, patient into the ramps, and geared to spin rather than grind. It is a category 3 test of pacing discipline as much as fitness.

Length: 11.7 km
Average gradient: 3.86%
Max gradient: 12.89%
Start: 265 m
Summit: 717 m
Net gain: 452 m
Total ascent: 438 m
Category: 3