Puerto del Chaparral

Overview

Puerto del Chaparral is a long, patient category 1 climb that asks for restraint before it asks for power. Over 21.5 km it lifts you from just 12 m near the base to a summit of 1097 m, a net gain of 1085 m. On paper the average gradient of 5.04% reads as merciful — the kind of slope you can settle into and turn over for the better part of an hour. But the numbers hide the climb's real character. With a total ascent of 1184 m against that 1085 m net, roughly 99 m of the elevation you earn is quietly given back in dips and false flats. This is not a single unbroken ramp; it is a climb of rhythm, recovery, and one very rude surprise.

How the Gradient Unfolds

That 5.04% average is a blend, not a constant. Because total ascent exceeds net gain by about 99 m, the road clearly rolls — sections where you claw upward are interrupted by short descents and flatter shelves that let the legs breathe. The headline threat is the 21.22% maximum gradient, more than four times the average. A wall that steep on an otherwise moderate climb is the sort of pitch that shatters a comfortable tempo in a few pedal strokes, spiking your effort far above whatever pace you'd chosen for the surrounding 5% slopes. Expect the climb to feel like a long, manageable drag punctuated by sharper efforts, with that lone brutal ramp demanding you either grind it seated or accept a hard, standing surge.

Pacing Notes

At 21.5 km this is a sustained-effort climb, so pace it off your threshold rather than your ego. Riding just under your FTP for the shallower 5% sections keeps enough reserve to absorb the rolling dips and, critically, to survive the 21.22% wall without blowing apart. If you don't know your threshold number, run the numbers through the FTP estimator before you commit to a pace — guessing on a climb this long is how riders detonate two-thirds of the way up. Treat the false flats as recovery, not as free speed: soft-pedal them, eat, drink, and save the matches for the steep pitch.

Gearing

Gear for the wall, not the average. The 5.04% mean is friendly, but the 21.22% max is what dictates your cassette. For most riders a compact chainring paired with a wide cassette is the right call: a 34×32 is the sensible baseline for holding a seated cadence on the steep pitch, and if you climb on tired legs, carry extra kit, or simply prefer to spin, step up to a 34×34 for a genuine bailout gear. Over 21.5 km of climbing, the lower ratio pays for itself many times over — spinning the flatter sections costs nothing and preserves the legs you'll need higher up.

Summary

Puerto del Chaparral rewards discipline. Ride the 5% slopes within yourself, respect the 21.22% pitch, and let the rolling profile do you the small favor of recovery. Get to 1097 m with something left, and it's one of the more satisfying category 1 efforts you'll log.

Length: 21.5 km
Average gradient: 5.04%
Max gradient: 21.22%
Start: 12 m
Summit: 1097 m
Net gain: 1085 m
Total ascent: 1184 m
Category: 1