Coll de les Falgueres

Overview

Coll de les Falgueres is a Category 1 climb that packs a genuine punch into a compact 6.9 km. From a start elevation of 672 m it hauls you up to a 1231 m summit, and the raw average of 8.09% tells you most of the story: this is a steady, relentless grind with almost nowhere to soft-pedal. The net elevation gain is 559 m, and because the road pitches down in only a couple of short spots, total ascent lands close behind at 542 m. In practical terms, nearly everything you climb, you keep. With a maximum gradient of 12.46%, there's a hard ceiling here that will spike your effort well above whatever pace you've settled into.

How the Gradient Unfolds

Think of Falgueres less as a climb with a "hard part" and more as one long hard part. An 8.09% average over 6.9 km means the road rarely dips into recovery territory; the difference between the 559 m net gain and the 542 m total ascent is tiny, which confirms there are almost no false flats or descents to reset your legs. The gradient's personality lives in the gap between that 8.09% average and the 12.46% maximum. Those steepest ramps sit more than four points above the mean, so when they arrive they feel disproportionately savage against a body already loaded by the sustained pitch. Expect the climb to feel like a metronome that occasionally lunges.

Pacing Notes

On a climb this uniform, pacing is everything. The absence of flat recovery means you can't bank effort and coast — you have to hold a sustainable power from the base. Anchor your effort to your FTP: for a Category 1 ascent of 6.9 km, most riders can hold slightly above threshold, but the danger is going out too hard on the lower slopes and blowing apart before the 12.46% ramps. Ride the average, not the maximum. When you hit the steepest sections, let cadence drop and power surge briefly, then settle back. If you're unsure of your threshold number, run the FTP estimator before you attempt it so you're pacing to real data rather than optimism.

Gearing

With a sustained 8.09% and spikes to 12.46%, gearing is not the place to be macho. A compact chainring is the baseline, and I'd recommend pairing a 34-tooth inner ring with a wide cassette. A 34×32 will get most fit riders up the mean gradient at a workable cadence, but on the 12.46% ramps you'll be grinding. If you weigh more, ride at less than peak fitness, or simply value spinning over mashing, step up to a 34×34 — that extra sprocket buys you a meaningful cadence cushion exactly where the road bites hardest. On a climb with so little respite, protecting your knees and your matches with an easier gear pays off long before the summit.

Summary

Coll de les Falgueres is a short, honest, and unforgiving Category 1 climb: 6.9 km of near-constant 8.09%, punctuated by ramps to 12.46%, delivering you from 672 m to 1231 m. Pace it to your threshold, gear it kindly, and respect that almost every metre you gain, you keep.

Length: 6.9 km
Average gradient: 8.09%
Max gradient: 12.46%
Start: 672 m
Summit: 1231 m
Net gain: 559 m
Total ascent: 542 m
Category: 1