cycling Port d'Envalira - Andorra

I have started this climb from the Valira camping site situated in Andora la Viella. The climb started steep but soon turned into a steady and easy climb. The road develops through the bottom part of a valley that though getting higher and higher very rarely gives the climber the opportunity to fear the next climb or to contemplate his climbing achievements due to the limited visibility. Around the 9thKm you get a first test. There you really feel going up with an ascent of 9% (climbing 90m in “just” 1 Km) the sun exposure and the distance to the top (about 20Km) took the cruising smile out of my face. The scenery is not one of a mountain climb, once you keep passing villages and seeing people walking around and also because you keep riding in the lower part of this valley until you are more or less 10 Km from the top. After passing the last village (Soldeu) you finally get the feeling you are climbing a mountain. At that point I was undertaken by a cyclist with a different bike (and level) and a second one (probably age 50s) was preparing to do the same. At that time I said to myself the youngster it’s ok but the senior not. They came from Puigcerdá. Respect.

My personal climb rating: 3 stars