Vuelta 2026 Route stage 11: Cartagena - Lorca

Wednesday 2 September - Stage 11 of the Vuelta a España is a largely flat 156.1-kilometre ride from Cartagena to Lorca. The riders face almost 1,400 metres of elevation gain.

Cartagena literally means 'new city'. Yet there's nothing particularly new about it, as it was founded in the third century BC by the Carthaginians. While they explored new territories by sea, the peloton does so by land. That said, the opening 40 kilometres run along the coast. Two modest climb stand out in that section: 1.8 kilometres at 5.5% and 2.4 kilometres at 4.7%.

After leaving the Costa Cálida behind at Los Alcázares, the race heads across the flat roads of the Murcia region towards Totana. There, the riders take on the day's only classified climb, the Alto de Morrón de Totana, named after the town at its foot. It's a steady ascent of 8.8 kilometres at an average gradient of 4.3%, although it does become slightly steeper towards the summit.

From the top, 23.5 kilometres remain. Apart from a few gentle false-flat rises and the final 2 kilometres on the flat, it's virtually all downhill on modest gradients. In short, the pace is likely to be very high in the finale.

Fancy riding the route yourself? Download GPX 11th stage 2026 Vuelta a España.