Oscar Freire has his problems with Madrid. "I'm not really convinced by the road course," grumbled the three-time world champion when he travelled from Milan in May to familiarise himself with the course in the west of the city for the first time. Freire, who grew up in the mountains not far from the northern Spanish coast, found the steepest part particularly unimpressive: five per cent in less than a kilometre. But it's not just the world champion who finds Madrid difficult. With around five million inhabitants, heavy traffic and the often unbearable heat in summer, there is only one way out, even for local amateur athletes: get out of the city centre and into the mountains!
To the Sierra de Gredos, for example, to the west of Madrid, where eagles and griffon vultures circle above holm oak forests and bizarre sandstone cliffs. Where the farmer still rides his donkey to the pasture to feed his cattle. A lonely region where many people have lived from livestock farming for centuries. Place names such as Navaluenga, Navalmoral, Navadijos and Navalacruz bear witness to this. "Nava" is of Celtic origin and means something like "small pastureland in a narrow mountain valley". Nevertheless, it is not backwoods. The outfits and bikes of the cyclists cranking over the mountain passes here are of the highest calibre. In the villages, people know their way around cycling and everyone is proud of the professionals who come from their region.
You can find these routes in the PDF download:
1st Vuelta passes
92 (182) kilometres, 1,200 (2,200) metres in altitude, maximum gradient of seven percent
Ávila (1,128 m) - Puerto de Navalmoral (1,514 metres) - Navalmoral - Navarredondilla - Navalacruz - Puerto de Menga (1,566 metres) - Ávila. Extension: Navalacruz - Cepeda de la Mora - San Martín de la Vega - Herguijuela - Puerto de la Peña Negra (1,909 metres) - Piedrahita - Ávila
2nd Royal Round
134 kilometres, 2,200 metres in altitude, maximum gradient of eight percent
Ávila (1,128 metres) - Puerto del Boquerón (1,315 metres) - San Bartolomé de Pinares - Puerto de Arrebatacapas (1,068 metres) - Ce breros - Robledo de Chavela - Puerto de Cruz Verde (1.256 metres) (variants: Silla de Felipe II and/or monastery residence of San Lorenzo el Real de El Escorial) - Puerto de la Paradilla (1,342 metres) - Navas del Marqués - Alto de Valdelavía (1,448 metres) - Puerto de las Pilas (1,334 metres) - Ávila
3. in a quiet corner
62 kilometres, 1,230 metres in altitude, maximum gradient of 14 percent
Buitrago - Manjirón - Embalse de El Villar - Robledillo de la Jara - Collado de la Fragüela (1,143 metres) - Collado Grande (1,085 metres) - Puebla de la Sierra - Puerto de la Puebla (1,636 metres) - Prádena del Rincón - Embalse de Puentes Viejas - Manjirón - Buitrago
4 Lombardi's training track
130 kilometres, 2,100 metres in altitude, maximum gradient of ten percent
Buitrago - Villavieja de Lozoya - Gargantilla - Lozoya - Rascafría (shortcut: Puerto de la Morcuera, 1,796 metres - Mira flores) - Puerto de Cotos (1,830 metres) - Puerto de Navacerrada (1,860 metres) - Mataelpino - Manzanares el Real - Soto del Real - Miraflores - Puerto de Canencia (1,505 metres) - Gargantilla - Buitrago
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