La Carrasqueta is 12 kilometre climb lying just inland from the city of Alicante
The spectacular climb takes us up to a natural balcony at @1020 m.a.s.l. overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and the city of Alicante, some 40 kilometres away.
Another climb to have featured many times in la Vuelta a España over the years, Puerto de l'Oronet is perhaps the most popular climb among cyclists living in and around the city of Valencia.
Easily reachable from the city of Valencia, the 8-km climb of l'Oronet serves as a gateway to Sierra Calderona, Sierra de Espadán and beyond.
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Casas de Benalà is a 16 kilometre climb in the south-west of the province of Valencia
The virtually traffic-free climb takes us through olive groves and pine forests us to an altitude of @750 m.a.s.l.
A gentle, quiet climb to nowhere particular through the Sierra de Enguera, the climb to Casas de Benalà offers a virtually car-free asphalted climb and an off-road descent to the village of Navarrés.
Passing over the Serra Grossa range and linking the comarcas of Vall d'Albaida and la Costera, el Puerto del Portitxol is a relatively easy, regular climb that is popular with local cyclists and which can be slotted into numerous hilly routes in the lesser-known southwest corner of the province of Valencia/northwest corner of the province of Alicante.
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For the 2019 edition of La Vuelta a España, the organizers of the Spanish national tour have pulled a real rabbit out of the hat in the form of the previously-unused climb of el Alto de Javalambre - or el Picón del Buitre, as it is more commonly known -, atop of which sits the spectacular Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory.
We know that we are by no means the first to say it, but it nevertheless remains true: while it may not be the hardest, nor the steepest, climb in Alicante, the north side of Coll de Rates is most surely the best-known and most-popular climb in the province, attracting cyclists from all over the world throughout the entire year.
Nestled in the mountains above the village of TÃ rbena, La Panavista is a self-contained Spanish villa which serves as an excellent option for relaxing and enjoying this spectacular corner of the Valencia Region.
The River Júcar, or Xúquer in Valencian, runs for approximately 500 km from its source at Ojuelos de Valdeminguete, on the eastern flank of the Montes Universales, Cuenca, close the sources of the rivers Tajo, Cuervo, Turia and Cabriel (the latter serving as its most important tributary) to the Mediterranean Sea.
Located in the northernmost extreme of the province of Alicante and overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, Vall de Ebo (Vall d'Ebo in Valencian) is one of the Region's most popular climbs among amateur and professional cyclists alike.
Indeed, due to its proximity to coastal resorts such as Denia, Calpe and Altea, so popular in the off-season among the world's leading pro cycling teams, it's not uncommon to come across many of the international peloton's most famous faces both climbing and descending its slopes, team cars dutifully bringing up the rear. And it's not hard to understand the climb's attraction for cyclists of all levels: with its 7.5 km length, multitude of hairpins and gradients between 5% and 13%, on a ranking of 1 to 10 it can comfortably be classified as a doozy.
CLIMBS IN ALICANTE
Amid the numerous topics and issues dealt with on a regular basis in the specialist cycling media - bicycle paths, carbon components, electronic shifting, urban transport, disc brakes, health and fitness benefits, women's racing, bike-sharing, gravel riding, smart trainers, folding bikes, etc., etc., etc. -, there's a curiously ambigious place reserved for the "e-bike", seemingly situated at an equidistant point between unbridled praise, general indifference and outright rejection.
El Puerto de Barx is a popular climb among Valencian cyclists, due to its proximity both to the La Safor coast and to the mountains of the Sierra Grossa range. At around 5 kilometres in length, it's not a long climb, and it's not too hard, either, enabling cyclists to take in the magnificent views towards the coast as they tackle its numerous hairpins.
A relatively unknown climb outside the circle of local cyclists, Coll de Fredes' 16 kilometres of forest and hairpins take us deep into one of the Valencian Community's most beautiful areas and provide spectacular views of a unique landscape. Of middling difficulty, it is perhaps more of a challenge due to its length and the heat in summer months than the gradient of the climb itself.
As part of a welcome series of measures aimed at improving safety for cyclists and at promoting the tourism attraction of the region's inland villages and towns, a few years ago the Provincial Council of Valencia launched a project to install road-signs specially designed for cyclists on some 20 mountain passes covered by the province’s road network.
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Alicante-based Belgian Seb Nolens, or #TCRNo6cap54 as he's known to his nearest and dearest, will join @300 other participants to take on the challenge of the Transcontinental Race Nº6 at the end of July: @4000 km of distance and @40,000 metres of vertical climbing between Belgium and Greece, a full-on, two-week grinder up mountain passes, through distant valleys, often in sweltering heat and along gravel roads and asphalt. Lots and lots of asphalt. We talk to him to find out what lies behind his decision to put himself through such an extreme test.
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