Alto de l’Angliru, also known as La Gamonal is a very steep mountain road in Asturias, near La Vega-Riosa, in northern Spain. Dubbed as the “hardest climb in the Vuelta a España“, where it is often used, the Angliru is considered one of the most demanding climbs in professional road bicycle racing.
Alto de l’Angliru climb profile
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Alto de l’Angliru first included in the Vuelta a España in 1999. The organizers of the Spanish Grand Tour wanted a mountain to rival the Alpe d’Huez and Mont Ventoux in the Tour de France and the Mortirolo Pass in the Giro d’Italia. José Maria Jiménez won the first Angliru stage (1999, stage 8, León – Alto de l’Angliru) after catching Pavel Tonkov a kilometer from the finish. He dedicated the win to Marco Pantani, who disqualified from that year’s Giro d’Italia, saying: “I dedicate it to Pantani by everything that he has suffered in this time”.
Giro d’Italia organizers would go on in 2003 to add one of the world’s most demanding climbs, the Monte Zoncolan, in an attempt to compete with the Alto de l’Angliru.
Winners of the Alto de l’Angliru stage
Year Rider (Country) Team
- 1999 José María Jiménez (ESP) Banesto
- 2000 Gilberto Simoni (ITA) Lampre-Daikin
- 2002 Roberto Heras (ESP) U.S. Postal Service
- 2008 Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana
- 2011 Wout Poels (NED) Vacansoleil
- 2013 Kenny Elissonde (FRA) FDJ-BigMat
- 2017 Alberto Contador (ESP) Trek–Segafredo
- 2020 Hugh Carthy (GBR) EF Education First
Fastest Ascents of the Angliru
Rank Year Ascent Time Avg. Speed Rider (Country) Team
- 2008 44:17 17.34 km/h Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana
- 2000 44:13 17.37 km/h Raimondas Rumšas (LIT) Fassa Bortolo
- 2008 44:10 17.39 km/h Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d’Epargne
- 2011 43:57 17.47 km/h Juan Jose Cobo (ESP) Geox-TMC
- 2002 43:55 17.49 km/h Roberto Heras (ESP) U.S. Postal Service
- 2008 43:54 17.49 km/h Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d’Epargne
- 2013 43:35 17.62 km/h Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Astana
- 2013 43:35 17.62 km/h Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Movistar
- 2020 43:34 17.61 km/h Hugh Carthy (GBR) EF Education First
- 2000 43:24 17.70 km/h Roberto Laiseka (ESP) Euskadi
- 2000 43:24 17.70 km/h Pavel Tonkov (RUS) Mapei
- 2008 43:12 17.78 km/h Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana
- 2013 43:07 17.81 km/h Chris Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
- 2000 41:55 18.32 km/h Roberto Heras (ESP) Kelme-Costa Blanca
Chris Horner becomes the oldest Grand Tour winner
Kenny Ellisonde (FDJ-BigMat) won the stage. Chris Horner won his battle against Vincenzo Nibali and became the oldest grand tour winner in history.
In stage 3 of the 2013 Vuelta a España, Horner attacked over the last kilometer to win the stage and take the overall lead in the race. By doing this, he became the oldest rider in history (41 years and 307 days) to win a stage and wear the leader’s jersey in a Grand Tour.
Horner won again on stage 10, another uphill finish, reclaiming the lead. and setting a new record of the oldest rider (41 years and 314 days) to win a stage in a Grand Tour. Horner’s success at that race continued and he won the race overall on September 15, 2013, the oldest ever Grand Tour winner (41 years and 327 days).
Sources
- Alto de l’Angliru on Wikipedia
- Top 17 fastest Paris-Roubaix editions - April 9, 2023
- With greenteg’s CALERA technology, athletes can get accurate core body temperature monitoring on the wrist - March 31, 2023
- Dura-Ace History [1973-2023] - January 31, 2023
This climb nearly killed my husband and me! Is there a way to purchase the awesome bw photo with the angliru stats?