Speedys 2025
Portugal & Spain

A magnificent ride today in the mountains of the Serra Amarela with stunning landscapes and virtually no traffic throughout the ride.

The ride starts off with a beautiful descent to the Cavado River and the bridge that leads into the National Park and the Serra Amarela. There’s very little flat in these mountains, it’s either up or down – and there’s a lot of “up”, almost 3000m to be precise, with 4 categorised climbs on the agenda. The scenery gets more and more remote as the rides heads north and east towards the Gerês mountains where herds of wild horses roam freely, and don’t forget to save something in the legs for the final 6km climb of the day which comes after 90km and marks the end of a challenging, but extremely beautiful ride, through some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in Portugal.

Another exceptionally beautiful ride today as you start the journey north towards the Spanish border, with the majority of the ride taking place in Peneda-Gerês, Portugal’s only National Park.

The ride starts with the fantastic climb to Calcedonia, followed by the Mata de Albergaria climb and the border with Spain. You’ll ride 20km in Spain before crossing back into Portugal where another couple of climbs await before the final drop down to the River Minho valley and your hotel in Melgaço.

Today you’ll say goodbye to Portugal as your journey continues northwards into the Spanish region of Galicia.

Leaving the hotel,  it won’t take long to get warmed up as the first 35km are pretty much all uphill, with the road eventually topping out at the Alto de Moncelo at an elevation of 800m. Once again, enjoy traffic-free roads and stunning landscapes as the ride continues through remote and unspoilt mountains. Save the legs for the final climb of the day, the Alto de Xarotos, which includes a 3km section at around 12%.

Your destination today is the magnificent city of Santiago de Compostela, the final destination of the Camino de Santiago (the Way of St James in English). You’ll be staying at the famous Hostal dos Reis Católicos, now converted into a 5-star luxury Parador Hotel, and situated directly opposite the cathedral on the main plaza in Santiago. The hostal has been welcoming pilgrims since the 15th century and is considered the oldest continuously operating hotel in the world.

No better place to spend a rest day than the centre of Santiago de Compostela, a UNESCO world heritage site. The city is crammed full of culture, history and urban beauty – and there are more than a few bars in the old town, right outside the hotel, just in case you get tired of too much culture…

After yesterday’s rest day, we’re back with another challenging ride as we head for the spectacular Costa da Morte (Death Coast in English) which gets it’s rather sinister name from the hundreds of shipwrecks that have occured off it’s shores. However, before reaching the Costa da Morte you’ll have to contend with a wee bump in the road, in the form of the brutally steep  climb to the Mirador de Ezaro. The Ezaro climb last featured in the 2020 Vuelta a España with Primoz Roglic taking the stage victory. After the Ezaro, you’ll ride out to the famous lighthouse in Fisterra (the end of the world!) before continuing north along the coast to the coastal town of Muxia to witness some of the best ocean views in Spain from the Santuario da Virxe da Barca.

A change of scenery today as you leave behind the Costa da Morte ocean views and head inland towards the high peaks of Galicia, Castilla and Asturias. The ride starts with the 23km climb to the Alto de Sete Carballos, followed closely by Vuelta a España favourite, the Puerto de Ancares, where Michael Woods won stage 13 of the 2024 Vuelta.

Today’s highlight is one of Spain’s most spectacular climbs, the Alto de la Farrapona, where Alberto Contador produced a master-class in 2014 to drop Chris Froome and go on to win Stage 16 of La Vuelta. The Farrapona is an absolutely stunning climb set in the Somiedo Natural Park, one of the most diverse and remote areas of Western Europe and still home to brown bears, wolves, vultures, golden eagles and lynx. The climb itself is a tough one,  19km at an average of 6% with the steepest sections coming in the final 6km.

Today’s rides takes you deep into the heart of rural Asturias as the route heads towards Mieres and tomorrow’s climax on the Angliru. Another Vuelta a España classic climb, the Puerto de San Lorenzo leads you out of the Somiedo Natural Park and the start of the drop down towards the Atlantic coast – but there’s still space for a couple of climbs to test the legs before arriving in Las Caldas, our home for the next 2 nights, and launchpad for tomorrow’s conquest of the infamous Alto el Angliru!

The Angliru is considered the toughest climb in professional cycling and today is your chance to test your climbing legs on the dreaded slopes. From the hotel in Las Caldas,  you’ll head out into the Asturian countryside for your final ride. A short climb will stretch the legs before you reach La Vega and the start of the Angliru.

The first 6km of the Angliru are “easy”. The climb starts in earnest at the 6km mark with the toughest section coming after 10km. This section is called Cueña les Cabres, lasts for 450m and has ramps of 23.5%!

Unfortunately, your trip across Northern Portugal and Spain has come to an end.

Our shuttle will drop you off at Bilbao Airport.