Puerto de Penas Blancas

Overview

Puerto de Penas Blancas is a category 1 climb that asks a serious question of your legs from the very first pedal stroke. Over 14.3 km it lifts you from a start elevation of just 7 m to a summit of 975 m, a net gain of 968 m. The average gradient of 6.75% is the kind of number that never lets you settle: steep enough to hurt, sustained enough to grind you down. This is not a climb of one brutal wall and a long recovery — it is a long, honest effort where the road tips up and stays up.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The defining feature here is consistency. With 14.3 km at an average of 6.75%, there are very few places to soft-pedal. The total ascent of 949 m sits just under the 968 m net gain, which tells you almost the entire climb points skyward — there is little in the way of false-flat or descending relief to break the rhythm. The steepest ramp reaches 11.3%, meaning the hardest pitches sit roughly 4.55% above the average. Expect those spikes to arrive without much warning, forcing you out of the saddle before the road eases back toward its long, grinding baseline. Because the summit stands at 975 m, the closing kilometres also thin the air just enough to sharpen the sting of every ramp.

Pacing Notes

On a climb this length, discipline beats bravado. The single biggest mistake riders make is attacking the early slopes at the base near 7 m, then paying for it across the final third. Anchor your effort to your sustainable threshold rather than to how you feel in the opening kilometres. Ride the 6.75% sections just below your FTP, and reserve a small margin for the 11.3% ramps so you can absorb them without redlining. If you don't already know your ceiling, run the numbers through the FTP estimator before you commit — 14.3 km is long enough that a 10-watt pacing error compounds into real trouble. Meter your effort so the last of the 968 m of gain feels like a controlled squeeze, not a collapse.

Gearing

Given the 6.75% average and the 11.3% pitches, gear for the ramps, not the average. For most riders a compact 34-tooth chainring paired with a wide cassette is the right call. A 34×32 is the sensible baseline and will carry strong climbers through the steep sections at a workable cadence. If you weigh more, ride at a lower FTP, or simply want to protect your legs across the full 14.3 km, step up to a 34×34 — that extra sprocket is cheap insurance against grinding to a walking pace on the 11.3% ramps. Losing cadence on a climb this sustained is far costlier than carrying one gear you rarely use.

Summary

Puerto de Penas Blancas rewards patience and honest pacing. It is a long, uniform category 1 effort where the numbers tell the whole story: sustained, steep, and unrelenting from bottom to top.

Length: 14.3 km
Average gradient: 6.75%
Max gradient: 11.3%
Start: 7 m
Summit: 975 m
Net gain: 968 m
Total ascent: 949 m
Category: 1