Vuelta 2026 Route stage 14: Jaén - Sierra de la Pandera

Saturday 5 September - Stage 14 of the Vuelta takes the riders from Jaén to the Sierra de la Pandera. The 152.7-kilometre route offers virtually no flat roads before culminating in an 8.4-kilometre final climb averaging 7.8%.

The road begins climbing gently from the very start towards Mancha Real. The riders tackle a rolling 69-kilometre loop before returning to Jaén, where the route continues to rise gradually. However, the race is only really expected to come to life at the foot of the Puerto de los Villares, some 80 kilometres into the stage.

The Puerto de los Villares is a 10.4-kilometre climb averaging 5.5%. As the crow flies, it would be only around 12 kilometres to the finish, but the riders have another 60 kilometres to cover.

The descent is followed by 20 kilometres of rolling terrain leading to the Puerto de Locubín, an 8.8-kilometre ascent averaging 5%. From there, the road drops towards Valdepeñas de Jaén, where a short but punchy ramp signals the start of the finale. After a brief descent, the riders tackle a false-flat drag to the foot of the final climb.

The climb to the Sierra de la Pandera is 8.4 kilometres long and averages 7.8%. Its steepest kilometre averages 12%, as the road snakes through the barren rocky landscape.

The final kilometre begins with a short descent before the road kicks up sharply again over the last few hundred metres.

This will be the seventh Vuelta finish atop the Sierra de la Pandera. Roberto Heras was the first winner in 2002, followed by Alejandro Valverde (2003), Andrey Kashechkin (2006), Damiano Cunego (2009), Rafał Majka (2017) and Richard Carapaz (2022).

Fancy riding the route yourself? Download GPX 14th stage 2026 Vuelta a España.