Puerto de las Corchadillas

Overview

Puerto de las Corchadillas is a short category 4 climb in Spain. It runs 2.9 km from a start elevation of 375 m to a summit at 478 m, for a net elevation gain of 103 m. On paper it is a modest ascent: low category, under three kilometres, and a summit that barely tops 478 m. It is the kind of climb you can clear inside ten to fifteen minutes, but the profile has more texture than the headline numbers suggest.

That texture shows up in the gap between net gain and total ascent. You gain 103 m net, but the total ascent is 259 m — meaning the road also sheds 156 m along the way (259 minus 103). That extra up-and-down does not appear in the summit-minus-start figure, yet you pay for every metre of it in the legs. Treat this as an undulating climb, not a steady drag.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The 3.6% average is a blend, not a description of the road under your wheels. With 156 m of descent folded into 259 m of total climbing, the true climbing pitches are steeper than 3.6% to compensate for the downhill sections. The steepest point hits 8.22%, which is where the effort actually lives.

• Flatter and downhill recovery sections that drag the average down and let the legs breathe.
• Repeated short climbing pitches stacked between those recoveries — the source of the 259 m total ascent.
• A single steepest ramp at 8.22%, the moment to be in the right gear and not caught out.

Pacing Notes

On a rolling profile like this, chasing an even speed is a trap: you will over-drive the descents and blow the steep pitches. Pace to effort instead. Hold a steady sustainable power output through the climbing sections and let your speed rise freely on the downhills without pushing. If you do not know your number, run the FTP estimator first so you have a ceiling to pace against rather than guessing on the 8.22% ramp.

Gearing

Gearing is governed by the steepest gradient, not the average. An 8.22% pitch is manageable but will bite if you are geared for the flat. A compact (50/34) or sub-compact chainset paired with a wide-range cassette — something like 34×32 or 34×34 — gives you a spinning bailout gear for that ramp while keeping cadence on the recoveries. Check your chainring and cassette before the ride; you do not want to discover you are undergeared halfway up.

Summary

• Length: 2.9 km
• Average gradient: 3.6%
• Maximum gradient: 8.22%
• Net elevation gain: 103 m
• Total ascent: 259 m
• Category: 4

Puerto de las Corchadillas is short and low-category, but the 259 m of total ascent against only 103 m net makes it a busier climb than its numbers imply. Pace to effort, gear for the 8.22% ramp, and it rewards you with a clean, efficient effort.