Collado Inzulegui

Overview

Collado Inzulegui is a category 2 climb in Spain, running 10.9 km from base to summit. It starts at 189 m and tops out at 713 m, for a net elevation gain of 524 m. On paper that reads as a moderate ascent, and the category confirms it sits in the middle tier of difficulty rather than at the extreme end.

The number that changes the story is total ascent: 1,139 m against a net gain of just 524 m. That gap of 615 m means the road gives back more than half its climbing to descents and false flats along the way. Every metre you lose to a dip has to be re-earned, so the effort on the ground is far higher than the net figure suggests. Treat this as a rolling climb, not a steady drag.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The 4.79% average is close to meaningless here. When a climb sheds 615 m to descents, the average is diluted by every downhill and flat, which means the sections that actually go up are considerably steeper than 4.79%. The profile spikes to a maximum of 24.86% — a wall that demands you are in your lowest gear before you reach it, not fumbling for it mid-ramp.

• Recovery on the descents and false flats that account for the undulation
• Repeated short climbs stacked between the dips, each one asking for a fresh surge
• A brutal steepest ramp touching 24.86% where cadence collapses if you are over-geared

Pacing Notes

Even-effort beats even-speed on a climb this broken up. Chasing a constant speed forces you to overpower the steep ramps and then coast the descents, spiking and dropping your load. Instead, anchor your climbing sections to your sustainable power output and let speed fluctuate with the terrain — ease slightly on the 24.86% pitch rather than blowing your effort ceiling.

Use the descents and false flats as genuine recovery, spinning easy rather than hammering to hold pace. If you do not know your threshold, run the FTP estimator first and set a ceiling you can hold across all 10.9 km, undulation included.

Gearing

A 24.86% ramp governs your gearing choice, full stop. This is not terrain for a standard chainset. Fit a compact or sub-compact crank and pair it with a wide-range cassette — a 34×32 or, better, a 34×34 — so you have a bailout gear for the steepest pitch. Check your setup before the ride: confirm the chain reaches the largest sprocket cleanly and shifts under load. Arriving at a near-25% wall with nothing left in the block is how a manageable climb becomes a walk.

Summary

• Length: 10.9 km
• Average gradient: 4.79%
• Maximum gradient: 24.86%
• Net elevation gain: 524 m
• Total ascent: 1,139 m
• Category: 2

Collado Inzulegui rewards riders who respect its undulation. The category 2 label and 4.79% average undersell it — 1,139 m of total ascent and a 24.86% ramp are the numbers that decide your ride. Gear low, pace by effort, and use the descents.