Puerto de la Morcuera (North side)
Distance: 26.17 km
Elevation Gain: 660 m
Elevation Loss: 522 m
Difficulty:
471 (Moderate)
FIETS Index: 3.13 FIETS
Avg Grade: 4.89 %
Max cat climb: 1
Min elevation: 1133 m
Max elevation: 1773 m
Ride Category:
Hilly
The Puerto de la Morcuera carries the M-611 over the Sierra de Guadarrama between Rascafría and Miraflores de la Sierra, in the Comunidad de Madrid, Spain. It is a regular Vuelta a España climb, crossed more than 25 times since 1974. On the penultimate stage in 2015 the race climbed this northern face first. Rubén Plaza attacked alone on it, built a lead of more than two minutes and held on to win after 117 km on his own. Later that day, on the southern face, Fabio Aru took the leader’s jersey he wore to Madrid.
The ride comes down from the Cotos road into the Lozoya valley. Near the start it passes the Puente del Perdón, built by the monks of El Paular in the 18th century; legend says condemned men who had been pardoned were set free when they crossed it. The bridge served the monastery’s paper mill, whose paper was used for the first edition of Don Quixote. After Rascafría the M-611 climbs the north face to the pass, and the ride finishes a few kilometres down the other side.
