Ruta del Sol 2019 Route stage 5: Otura

Ruta del Sol 2019 Route stage 5: Otura - Alhaurín de la Torre

Sunday 24 February - At 164 kilometres, the last stage of the Ruta del Sol is played out in the middle mountains between Otura and Alhaurín de la Torre. Following a race with four intermediate climbs the arrival runs slightly uphill. (Slideshow route/profile)

The flag is dropped in Otura, just south of Granada. Some 10 kilometres after the start the riders enter a false flat which continues onto a 9 kilometres climb at 3.1% to the village Agrón. The route descents to the Embalse de Los Bermejales, a beautiful man-made reservoir, before the next uphill appears. Not the hardest climb in Andalucia either: 5.2 kilometres at 2.8%.

The Ruta del Sol moves through Alhama de Granada and ascents the Alto del Navazo. The 6.4 kilometres climb at 3.8% drops to the plains around Zafarraya. Up next is the Alto de las Canteras, which slopes for 4.1 kilometres at 4.4%.

The second half of the race is easier. The route descents from 1,096 metres to around 300 metres before the last KOM climb appears. The Alto Valle de la Vida is 2.7 kilometres at 7.6% and takes in some double digits ramps. The peak is crested in Almogía with almost 30 kilometres remaining to the finish line.

The route runs just north of Málaga Airport to Alhaurín de la Torre. The arrival was included before in the 2015 Ruta del Sol when Juan José Lobato outsprinted John Degenkolb on the false flat finish.

The last stage of the 2019 Ruta del Sol leaves at around 11:20 – local time.