Probably the toughest route of all those proposed on the road from Puro Pirineo. The “Route of the Passes” will put us to the test in a stage where we will chain the ascent to four demanding passes without rest.
We will start the route by directly ascending the Coll de Fadas pass from the town of Bisaurri. Without respite from the beginning, we will ascend for 8 km. With an average gradient of over 5% and ramps of 10%, we will crown at an altitude of 1470 m. Once crowned, we enter a flat area with some ramps until we reach the town of Laspaúles, the starting point of the descent of the Coll de Espina pass, a long and easy descent with good pavement and no great technical demand. At the end of the descent, we will take the detour with indications to Castanesa to face the second pass of the day. This 7km long pass is little known in the Alta Ribagorza but its average gradient of 6.5% and ramps of more than 13% await us in a tough climb.
After reaching the town of Castanesa, we will descend the pass to reach the starting point of the same, where this time we will take the detour with indications to Noales – Escané – Montanuy. Without transition kilometers between passes, we will face the third ascent of the day, the Montanuy pass. This pass has a rough asphalt that will add a plus of hardness to this 5km long climb, with an average gradient of 7.7% and ramps of up to 15%. Upon crowning, we will reach the Montanuy viewpoint, a beautiful spot where it is worth stopping to recover strength and take some photos of the beautiful panoramas that can be seen from there. After the ascent of this last pass, we will descend the same, to face the return to Bisaurri. To do this, from the same point from which we have started the last two ascents, we will start the ascent of the fourth pass of the day, the Coll de Espina.
The last pass of the route is long and demanding, testing the strength of any cyclist after the accumulated elevation gain up to this point. With a length of 7km from the junction with the town of Noales to its end, the average gradient is 7% with ramps exceeding 10%. After crowning Coll de Espina we will find a zone of false flats that connect the pass with the final descent of Coll de Fadas. We will enjoy a long descent with excellent pavement to finish our route in the town of Bisaurri.
