With the Rock of Gibraltar in the background the riders leave the town of San Roque in what is supposed to be the decisive stage of the 2016 Ruta del Sol. The Queen Stage features one climb in the 3rd category, plus two climbs in both the 2nd category and the 1st category.
In order of appearance, Puerto del Espino (after 60 kilometres), Alto de Cortés (after 76 kilometres), Puerto Espiritu Rojo (after 91 kilometres) and Puerto de la Cruz (after 122 kilometres) are to be crested, and then it’s off to the closing climb up Alto Peñas Blancas, near Estepona. Special thing about Peñas Blancas is that it virtually begins on the beach and then, after a 14.5 kilometres toil up the mountain, the riders are at an elevation of almost 1,000 metres. The average grade is 6.6%, while the steepest section at 12.5% is in the first 3 kilometres.
Race results/race report stage 5, Ruta del Sol 2016.
Ruta del Sol 2016 stage 5: Height profiles, route maps, and more
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Finish 5th stage
Climb details Alto de Peñas Blancas
Start and finish at Google Maps
Ruta del Sol Tweets