Alto de Las Cruces cycling climb profile
Alto de Las Cruces is a compact but serious category 1 climb in CO: 7.6 km long, rising from 706 m to 1365 m for a net elevation gain of 659 m. The headline number is the average gradient of 8.67%, which tells you most of what matters tactically. This is not a climb where the difficulty comes from length alone. It comes from the fact that the road is steep enough, for long enough, that poor pacing gets punished quickly.
The available profile does not break the climb into named lower, middle, and upper sectors, so the cleanest reading is to treat it as a sustained high-gradient ascent from bottom to summit, with the possibility of much sharper ramps. The maximum gradient is 15.04%, which is the key practical detail. An 8.67% average over 7.6 km means there is not much room for extended easy recovery if the road is also hitting 15.04% at its steepest. Even short ramps at that pitch can force riders over threshold if they arrive already riding too close to the limit.
How it rides
Expect Alto de Las Cruces to feel like a climb that asks for restraint early. Starting at 706 m, the opening temptation is to settle straight into a hard rhythm, especially because the total distance is manageable. But the 659 m of vertical gain means the climb has real density. The gradient is doing the work from the first half to the final summit push at 1365 m.
The tactical mistake is treating the average as the effort target. On a climb with a max gradient of 15.04%, the average is more like the baseline stress. The steepest sections will lift torque demand sharply, and if gearing is too big, cadence drops, muscular fatigue rises, and the final kilometres become survival rather than controlled climbing.
Pacing and gearing notes
Ride the first section slightly under your sustainable climbing effort, then let the effort rise only once the climb has revealed where the steepest ramps sit. If using power, this is a climb to manage around /glossary/ftp rather than chase speed. The road speed will fluctuate with gradient, so perceived progress can be misleading.
Gearing should be chosen for the 15.04% maximum, not the 8.67% average. A lower climbing gear gives you the option to stay seated and keep pressure smooth when the slope kicks up. Strong riders can still climb this aggressively, but the smart execution is controlled pressure early, disciplined cadence through the steepest ramps, and only then a harder finish if the legs are still responding.