Ruta del Sol 2019 Route stage 4: Armilla - Granada

Saturday 23 February - The Queen Stage of the Ruta del Sol starts in Armilla and travels over four intermediate climbs to a downhill finish in Granada. At merely 120 kilometres, chances are the riders will detonate the fireworks from start to finish.

Armilla is a suburb of Granada. It is a 5 kilometres ride from start to finish, yet the Ruta del Sol's Queen Stage heads in the opposite direction. Shortly the Alto de la Malaha appears, which is - at 4.3 kilometres and 2.8% - perfect to stretch the legs.

At the end of a first loop on undulating roads the route is almost back where it started. A right turn leads into the Sierra Nevada and after some 40 kilometres the riders tackle Alto del Purche, a 9.5 kilometres climb with an average gradient of 6.9%.

A flying descent leads into Granada for the first passage on the line, but immediately returns to the Sierra Nevada. At 10.1 kilometres the route climbs to Güéjar Sierra at fairly shallow gradients - 3.4% on average. No descent after the passage through the village though. Following a few kilometres on undulating roads the Alto de Hazallanas looms. This is a monster of 16.2 kilometres which peaks out at 1,676 metres. The average gradient of the Hazallanas is 5.7%.

The 2015 Ruta del Sol saw Alberto Contador and Chris Froome battle it out on the slopes of Alto de Hazallanas. El Pistolero turned out on to that day as he won the stage with a 19 seconds lead. It was a summit finish back then.

The Queen Stage of this year's Ruta del Sol offers a different finale. The race concludes with a 23 kilometres downhill into the centre of Granada.

The race is expected to finish around 16:30 local time.

Another interesting read: results/race report Queen Stage 2019 Ruta del Sol.