Mountain Bike Stages for Madrid Lisbon

STAGE 1 STAGE 2 STAGE 3 STAGE 4 STAGE 5 STAGE 6 STAGE 7 STAGE 8 STAGE 9 STAGE 10 STAGE 11 STAGE 12 STAGE 13 STAGE 14 STAGE 15

Madrid to Miraflores

Start at the center of Madrid, in Plaza del Sol, aside the km 0 landmark where all theroads leave from Madrid. Following some pedestrian streets and some parks (as the known Parque del Retiro), the route goes north circling the Anillo Verde, and only after a few km and an hour ride begins the dirt roads and single tracks joining the Santiago’s Way. Cycling through beautiful golden fields away from the stress fromthe big city, the goal is to reach the Miraflores at 1.100 m of altitude in the Guadarrama Mountain.

Technical Data

Distance and terrain 66,3 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 75%
Road: 8%
Singletracks: 17%

Ascent Height
1130m ascent | 690 m descent
Average ascent grade: 3,3%
Average descent grade: 3,4%

Ascent Grades
Total distance ascent: 34,2 km
(+1 to +5% grade) -> 27,9 km
(+5% to +10% grade) -> 6 km
(> +10% grade) -> 0,3km

Descent Grades
Total distance descent: 20 km
(-1% to -5% grade) -> 15,7 km
(-5% to -10% grade) -> 4,2 km
(< -10% grade) -> 0 km

Plain Route (grade -1% to +1%)
Total distance plain: 12,2 km

Altitude
Máx. 1117 m | Min. 642 m

Miraflores to Cercedilla

Leaving Miraflores de la Sierra, near the Guadalix River starts a nice uphill forest track between pines and oak trees. This day is marked by high mountain scenarios with strong possibilities of encountering horses, cattle and wild life. With nice sinuous single tracks between small waterfalls and greenish hoods, long uphill sections and fun descents, this is a day to remember. The finish of a beautiful day inthe mountains occurs with a long downhill (for the last 10 km of the stage) to finish in Cercedilla and with an impressive + 1.800 m overall ascent.

Technical Data

Distance and terrain 66 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 60%
Road: 25%
Singletracks: 15%

Distance and terrain 116 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 59%
Road: 35%
Single tracks: 6%

Ascent Height
1770 m ascent | 1733 m descent
Average ascent grade: 5.8%
Average descent grade: 5.5%

Ascent Grades
Total distance ascent: 30,3 km
(+1 to +5% grade) -> 12 km
(+5% to +10% grade) -> 15,3 km
(> +10% grade) -> 2,9 km

Descent Grades
Total distance descent: 31,1 km
(-1% to -5% grade) -> 15,1 km
(-5% to -10% grade) -> 13,4 km
(< -10% grade) -> 2,6 km

Plain Route (grade -1% to +1%)
Total distance plain: 4,7 km

Altitude
Máx. 1800 m | Min. 1150 m

Cercedilla to Ávila

In the third day of the traverse there is an 88 km stage beginning in Cercedilla. This is a day of high altitude plains, forest tracks and some interesting cultural sites on the way, such as Cruz dos Caidos, El Escorial and Collado de la Mina and cycling along a
ridge through a windmill park. To finish this long day, there is a hidden treasure, this perfect single track to the end of the day in Ávila, one of the most interesting cultural cities along the route.

Technical Data

Distance and terrain 87,9 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 78%
Road: 9%
Singletracks: 13%

Ascent Height
1852 m ascent | 1860 m descent
Average ascent grade: 5.4%
Average descent grade: 5.3%

Ascent Grades
Total distance ascent: 34,2 km
(+1 to +5% grade) -> 18,1 km
(+5% to +10% grade) -> 12,1 km
(> +10% grade) -> 4 km

Descent Grades
Total distance descent: 35 km
(-1% to -5% grade) -> 20,4 km
(-5% to -10% grade) -> 10,9 km
(< -10% grade) -> 3,9 km

Plain Route (grade -1% to +1%)
Total distance plain: 18,4 km

Altitude
Máx. 1700 m | Min. 1146 m

ÁVILA TO BARCO D’ÁVILA

Leaving from the medieval city of Ávila, descending by the streets along the ancient walls the direction is west, entering a forest track along a sinuous creek. This is another day cycling on high mountain tracks and it’s even the day with the highest passage through Zapatero Mountain at 1.822 m at Gredos Massif. The beauty of the landscapes and the innumerous km done alongside the Tormes River, with its Roman
bridges, helps forget that this is a long day to cover. Finally, the route reaches Barco d’Ávila, a historical villa within this mountain range.

Technical Data

Distance and terrain 113,1 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 54%
Road: 38%
Singletracks: 8%

Ascent Height
1878 m ascent | 2090 m descent
Average ascent grade: 4,7%
Average descent grade: 4,3%

Ascent Grades
Total distance ascent: 41,7 km
(+1 to +5% grade) -> 24,6 km
(+5% to +10% grade) -> 14,4 km
(> +10% grade) -> 2,7 km

Descent Grades
Total distance descent: 48,5 km
(-1% to -5% grade) -> 34,3 km
(-5% to -10% grade) -> 11,3 km
(< -10% grade) -> 2,9 km

Plain Route (grade -1% to +1%)
Total distance plain: 22,8 km

Altitude
Máx. 1788 m | Min. 1024 m

BARCO D’ÁVILA TO SOTOSERRANO

On the fifth stage of this adventure you find a challenger, the Béjar Mountain. This is a day with difficult climbs, hard tracks, and lots of single-tracks that result in slow progress but always full of emotions. There are also the oak forests and the picturesque Candelário Villa. With good single tracks and after 84 km, finally you reach Sotoserrano, for a rest at the end of your day.

Technical Data

Distance and terrain 86,4 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 59%
Road: 28%
Singletracks: 13%

Ascent Height
1717 m ascent | 2237 m descent
Average ascent grade: 5,4%
Average descent grade: 5,6%

Ascent Grades
Total distance ascent: 32 km
(+1 to +5% grade) -> 17,3 km
(+5% to +10% grade) -> 11,1 km
(> +10% grade) -> 3,5 km

Descent Grades
Total distance descent: 39,7 km
(-1% to -5% grade) -> 20,2 km
(-5% to -10% grade) -> 14,7 km
(< -10% grade) -> 4,7 km

Plain Route (grade -1% to +1%)
Total distance plain: 14,7 km

Altitude
Máx. 1617 m | Min. 405 m

Sotoserrano to Pinofranqueado

This is a day where the terrain is softer, and a good way to recover from the last hard stage. The mountains get lower and the terrain is now schist. This is the kingdom of Oak and Pine with nice forest tracks to cycle and the possibility to enjoy the
landscapes of Las Hurdes, cruising through another 84 km and + 1.600 m ascent, to finish in Pinofranqueado.

Technical Data

Distance and terrain 83,4 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 91%
Road: 8%
Singletrack: 1%

Ascent Height
1587 m ascent | 1654 m descent
Average ascent grade: 4,6%
Average descent grade: 4,7%

Ascent Grades
Total distance ascent: 34,3 km
(+1 to +5% grade) -> 20,7 km
(+5% to +10% grade) -> 11,1 km
(> +10% grade) -> 3,5 km

Descent Grades
Total distance descent: 34,8 km
(-1% to -5% grade) -> 22 km
(-5% to -10% grade) -> 10 km
(< -10% grade) -> 2,7 km

Plain Route (grade -1% to +1%)
Total distance plain: 14,3 km

Altitude
Máx. 1143 m | Min. 389 m

PINOFRANQUEADO TO TREVEJO

On the seventh stage of the expedition, and with almost half of the traverse completed it’s time to enjoy cycling through small villages, which seems to be stuck in the Middle Ages, still with a lot of the pure way of living. The Sierra da Gata offers nice tracks and astonishing photo opportunities during a nice day’s ride. We finish the stage is in Trevejo.

Technical Data

Distance and terrain 96,9 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 85%
Road: 10%
Singletracks: 5%

Ascent Height
1805 m ascent | 1647 m descent
Average ascent grade: 4,4%
Average descent grade: 4,5%

Ascent Grades
Total distance ascent: 41,4 km
(+1 to +5% grade) -> 27,5 km
(+5% to +10% grade) -> 12,5 km
(> +10% grade) -> 1,5 km

Descent Grades
Total distance descent: 36,4 km
(-1% to -5% grade) -> 25,4 km
(-5% to -10% grade) -> 8,3 km
(< -10% grade) -> 2,6 km

Plain Route (grade -1% to +1%)
Total distance plain: 19 km

Altitude
Máx. 1129 m | Min. 437 m

TREVEJO TO SABUGAL

Half of the route is done! This is a good day to recover for the next 7 stages since it is one of the shortest days of the tour. Up again on the mountain you’ll cross the border between Portugal and Spain at almost 1.000 m, on the mountain of Malcata. The goal is to cross this isolated and wild mountain region to reach the first typical villages in Portugal. Starting close to a forest area of pines and oaks and finally reaching Sabugal and having your first Portuguese traditional meal.

Technical Data

Distance and terrain 66,3 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 90%
Road: 4%
Singletracks: 6%

Ascent Height
1632 m ascent | 1434 m descent
Average ascent grade: 5,3%
Average descent grade: 5,4%

Ascent Grades
Total distance ascent: 30,5 km
(+1 to +5% grade) -> 15,5 km
(+5% to +10% grade) -> 12,3 km
(> +10% grade) -> 2,7 km

Descent Grades
Total distance descent: 26,7 km
(-1% to -5% grade) -> 14,9 km
(-5% to -10% grade) -> 8,7 km
(< -10% grade) -> 3 km

Plain Route (grade -1% to +1%)
Total distance plain: 9,1 km

Altitude
Máx. 1142 m | Min. 442 m

SABUGAL TO MANTEIGAS

Beautiful day through this region full of Portugal’s most iconic Historical Villages. Discover Sortelha, this amazing medieval village of granite with an impressive castle! Medieval stone roads and single tracks in valleys between villages will delight cyclists. Entry to the higher mountains of Portugal through beautiful forests and arriving in the picturesque village of Manteigas lying on a glacial valley! This is a great stage!

Technical Data

Distance and terrain 82,8 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 80%
Road: 10%
Singletracks: 10%

Ascent Height
2134 m ascent | 2153 m descent
Average ascent grade: 5,5%
Average descent grade: 6,6%

Ascent Grades
Total distance ascent: 38,8 km
(+1 to +5% grade) -> 18,7 km
(+5% to +10% grade) -> 16,5 km
(> +10% grade) -> 3,6 km

Descent Grades
Total distance descent: 32,6 km
(-1% to -5% grade) -> 14,9 km
(-5% to -10% grade) -> 10,9 km
(< -10% grade) -> 6,8 km

Plain Route (grade -1% to +1%)
Total distance plain: 11,5 km

Altitude
Máx. 1201 m | Min. 504 m

MANTEIGAS TO ALDEIA DAS DEZ

Mountain landscapes of great beauty. On this day you’ll find the highest peak in Portugal, passing the 1.600 m near a lagoon on the highest mountain of Portugal – Serra da Estrela, a handsome and impressive granite massif with forests, mountain meadows, and typical mountain villages! At the end of the day, you will arrive at Aldeia das Dez, a rural village situated in the surroundings of the left margin of the Alva river.

Technical Data

Distance and terrain 69,8 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 66%
Road: 17%
Singletracks: 17%

Ascent Height
1832 m ascent | 2107 m descent
Average ascent grade: 7%
Average descent grade: 6,7%

Ascent Grades
Total distance ascent: 26,3 km
(+1 to +5% grade) -> 10 km
(+5% to +10% grade) -> 10,3 km
(> +10% grade) -> 5,9km

Descent Grades
Total distance descent: 31,4 km
(-1% to -5% grade) -> 13,8 km
(-5% to -10% grade) -> 11,5 km
(< -10% grade) -> 6,1 km

Plain Route (grade -1% to +1%)
Total distance plain: 12 km

Altitude
Máx. 1442 m | Min. 232 m

ALDEIA DAS DEZ TO FIGUEIRÓ DOS VINHOS

Leave the granite houses and haylofts of Aldeia das Dez and ride through the central mountains system of Portugal. The route follows through rounded ridges near to 1.000 m. It is a day of great scenery. This is the last day above 1.000 m. End of the stage with an incredible downhill track to the quiet village of Figueiró dos Vinhos.

Technical Data

Distance and terrain 105,8 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 90%
Road: 4%
Singletracks: 6%

Ascent Height
3077 m ascent | 3015 m descent
Average ascent grade: 6,7%
Average descent grade: 7%

Ascent Grades
Total distance ascent: 46 km
(+1 to +5% grade) -> 19,8 km
(+5% to +10% grade) -> 16,3 km
(> +10% grade) -> 98km

Descent Grades
Total distance descent: 42,8 km
(-1% to -5% grade) -> 19,7 km
(-5% to -10% grade) -> 12 km
(< -10% grade) -> 11 km

Plain Route (grade -1% to +1%)
Total distance plain: 17,1 km

Altitude
Máx. 1049 m | Min. 144 m

FIGUEIRÓ DOS VINHOS TO TOMAR

An incredible day and a great variety of landscapes! This is all about mountain scenery, typical villages and a magnificent trail through the Alge canyon. Impressive waterfall and super fun single tracks along the river, the delight of any mountain biker. Then, the scenery changes radically as you enter a hilly region of karst landscape that will dominate the next stages with its olive groves and holm oak! You are in the limestone kingdom!

Technical Data

Distance and terrain 77,9 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 78%
Road: 7%
Singletracks: 15%

Ascent Height
1924 m ascent | 2319 m descent
Average ascent grade: 6,5%
Average descent grade: 6,7%

Ascent Grades
Total distance ascent: 29,5 km
(+1 to +5% grade) -> 14,3 km
(+5% to +10% grade) -> 8,9 km
(> +10% grade) -> 6,3 km

Descent Grades
Total distance descent: 34,7 km
(-1% to -5% grade) -> 15,8 km
(-5% to -10% grade) -> 11 km
(< -10% grade) -> 7,8 km

Plain Route (grade -1% to +1%)
Total distance plain: 13,7 km

Altitude
Máx. 505 m | Min. 54 m

TOMAR TO ALCOBAÇA

Leave Tomar and start a day of limestone hills. It is a day spent entirely in the stone kingdom! The paths are flanked by stone walls built over a hundred years! At the end of the day up to the last ridge of these mountainous terrains and look for the first time to the Atlantic Coast! Arrive at Alcobaça, a famous by the Monastery or Royal Abbey of Santa Maria, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.

Technical Data

Distance and terrain 95,6 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 66%
Road: 14%
Singletracks: 20%

Ascent Height
1431 m ascent | 1408 m descent
Average ascent grade: 3,9%
Average descent grade: 3,5%

Ascent Grades
Total distance ascent: 36,5 km
(+1 to +5% grade) -> 26,3 km
(+5% to +10% grade) -> 9,8 km
(> +10% grade) -> 0,4 km

Descent Grades
Total distance descent: 40,7 km
(-1% to -5% grade) -> 33,9 km
(-5% to -10% grade) -> 6 km
(< -10% grade) -> 0,9 km

Plain Route (grade -1% to +1%)
Total distance plain: 18,4 km

Altitude
Máx. 516 m | Min. 38,9 m

ALCOBAÇA TO LOURINHÃ

Leave the impressive set of medieval buildings of Alcobaça and ride until Lourinhã, the town where dinosaurs once roamed. This is the final crossing of karst landscape of the journey, through a beautiful path on Montejunto sierra by the hillside with superb views over the plains. Singletracks on ridges full of typical windmills and on rivers through lush Mediterranean vegetation!

Technical Data

Distance and terrain 91,4 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 74%
Road: 10%
Singletracks: 16%

Ascent Height
1435 m ascent | 1448 m descent
Average ascent grade: 4%
Average descent grade: 4,2%

Ascent Grades
Total distance ascent: 35,2 km
(+1 to +5% grade) -> 24,4 km
(+5% to +10% grade) -> 9,8 km
(> +10% grade) -> 1 km

Descent Grades
Total distance descent: 34,1 km
(-1% to -5% grade) -> 24,3 km
(-5% to -10% grade) -> 7,8 km
(< -10% grade) -> 1,9 km

Plain Route (grade -1% to +1%)
Total distance plain: 22,1 km

Altitude
Máx. 179 m | Min. 5 m

LOURINHÃ TO CASCAIS

Finally, on the last day of this epic journey we arrive at the sea! For those who were able to ride for 14 days through the mountains of the Iberian Peninsula, this is a great day to watch the Atlantic Ocean! Roads and paths over the sea, single-tracks, trails on the cliffs and beaches make this a unique and different day on this long journey. Finally, the arrival to Roca Cape, the westernmost point of Europe! Celebration and transfer or ride to a Hotel in Cascais.

Technical Data

Distance and terrain 86,4 km
Unpaved Roads and Trails: 58%
Road: 24%
Singletracks: 18%

Ascent Height
1745 m ascent | 1678 m descent
Average ascent grade: 5,9%
Average descent grade: 5%

Ascent Grades
Total distance ascent: 29,8 km
(+1 to +5% grade) -> 16,4 km
(+5% to +10% grade) -> 7,7 km
(> +10% grade) -> 5,6 km

Descent Grades
Total distance descent: 33,3 km
(-1% to -5% grade) -> 21,4 km
(-5% to -10% grade) -> 8 km
(< -10% grade) -> 3,8 km

Plain Route (grade -1% to +1%)
Total distance plain: 23,4 km

Altitude
Máx. 155 m | Min. -2 m