Alto de la Cobertoria (West side)

Alto de la Cobertoria (West side)

From Quirós, the road to the Alto de la Cobertoria climbs out of the valley towards Pola de Lena, in Asturias, Spain. In 2006 the top was the finish of a Vuelta a España stage: Alexandre Vinokourov won, and Alejandro Valverde took the leader’s jersey, his first in a Grand Tour. In 2021 Michael Storer led over the pass from this side on his way to clinching the mountains jersey.

This ride starts at Entrago, in Teverga, and runs down the valley beside the Senda del Oso, a greenway built on an old mining railway, to Caranga. It then follows the Quirós valley past the Valdemurio reservoir to Bárzana and Santa Marina, and climbs through Llanuces to the pass.