Collado de Fuente Escondida

Overview

Collado de Fuente Escondida is a hors catégorie (HC) climb that earns its top billing the hard way: length. At 29.4 km, it is the kind of ascent you settle into rather than attack, starting low at 236 m and grinding all the way up to a 2051 m summit. That is a net elevation gain of 1815 m, with 1822 m of total ascent once the small dips along the way are counted back in. The average gradient reads a deceptively civil 6.17%, but averages lie on climbs this long — the real story is written in the ramps, and this one hides a 22.08% maximum.

How the Gradient Unfolds

Do the arithmetic and the shape becomes clear. Nearly 30 km of road rising 1815 m net means the climb never truly lets go, yet a 6.17% average paired with a 22.08% peak tells you the effort is lumpy rather than uniform. The gap between total ascent (1822 m) and net gain (1815 m) is only 7 m, so there is almost no meaningful descending — this is a relentlessly upward road with barely a place to freewheel. Expect long sustained stretches close to the average, punctuated by short, savage pitches where the gradient more than triples toward that 22.08% wall. Those spikes are where races are lost and where your legs remember the previous 236-to-2051 m of vertical.

Pacing Notes

On a climb of 29.4 km, pacing discipline matters more than raw power. Ride the sustained sections just under your FTP and save the matches for the pitches that lunge toward 22.08%. A common mistake is treating the gentle 6.17% average as a target to beat early; do that and the back half toward 2051 m will unravel you. If you do not know your threshold, run the numbers through the FTP estimator before you go, then set a wattage ceiling and hold it. With 1815 m of climbing to distribute, every premature surge is borrowed against altitude you have not yet earned. Fuel steadily — an effort spanning this much vertical is measured in hours, not minutes.

Gearing

Gear for the 22.08% max, not the 6.17% average, and gear for fatigue accumulated over 1815 m. A compact 34-tooth inner chainring is the sensible baseline. Pair it with at least a 34×32 for the sustained grades, but on a climb that spikes this steeply this deep into 29.4 km, a 34×34 gives you the extra spin room to keep cadence alive when the road rears up near the summit. If your bike accepts it, err toward the easier 34×34 — you will never regret the bailout gear at 2051 m, and grinding a too-big gear over 1822 m of ascent is how climbs turn ugly.

Summary

Collado de Fuente Escondida is a true HC test: long, sustained, and spiked with a brutal maximum. Pace it under threshold, gear it easy, and respect the full span from 236 m to 2051 m.

Length: 29.4 km
Average gradient: 6.17%
Max gradient: 22.08%
Start: 236 m
Summit: 2051 m
Net gain: 1815 m
Total ascent: 1822 m
Category: HC