650 cyclists dare the 146 kilometers and the passes of El Purche, Blancares and Sabinas, where until a few days ago the Tour teams trained.
350 registered in the Subida Cicloturista al Veleta that will be held this Sunday between Cenes de la Vega and the mythical summit of Sierra Nevada.
Fernando Romero from Granada and Esther Maqueda from Seville won today the queen distance of the Sierra Nevada Límite Gran Fondo, the 146-kilometer route with 3,900 meters of positive elevation gain through a dozen municipalities located in the foothills of Sierra Nevada and with three mythical passes, the Alto de El Purche, Blancares (twice) and Las Sabinas, before crossing the finish line in the square of Pradollano.
Romera, who won the race in 2023 and last year was second, was part of the group of ten riders who broke the race in the fearsome Alto del Purche, where until a few weeks ago the professionals who are currently competing in the Tour France trained. From there, the escapees rode together through Quéntar, La Peza, Purullena, twice crowned the second pass of the route, Blancares, and reached Pinos Genil, at the beginning of the access road to the ski resort.
In the first ramps of the A-395, with 120 kilometers in the legs, the Dr Bike rider, Jorge Núñez, surprised his fellow escapees and launched an attack that left him alone until reaching the detour of Dornajo, where he was caught by Fernando Romera, who, in turn, accelerated the pace until crowning alone the Alto de las Sabinas, above 2,000 meters of altitude.
After almost five hours, Fernando Romera entered the Pradollano finish line with a three-minute advantage over the second classified Juan José Pérez Díaz and Jorge Núñez Entrena. “Every year it seems to me harder or I’m older”, ironized the winner of the Sierra Nevada Límite 2025, who placed “at the top of the Purche the key of the race; then everyone has gone as he could without too many relays until reaching the Sabinas where the attacks have begun.
In the women’s category, the cyclist from Los Palacios (Seville), Esther Maqueda, once again demonstrated her idyll with the summits of Sierra Nevada, where last year she won the Subida al Veleta, arriving at the finish with almost 15 minutes of advantage over Mar Galindo. “I am very happy, everything went very well, the route as always spectacular, with some impressive climbs,” said the winner.
The second distance, of 114 kilometers, started at 8:45 a.m. with the same start (Cenes) and finish (Pradollano) and identical route except for the Alto de Monachil (Purche).
This Sunday, July 13, a total of 350 riders (many of whom have ridden the Límite today) will start at 8:00 am in one of the most emblematic races of Spanish cycling: the Subida al Veleta, the cyclotourist race with the highest altitude finish line in Europe. A real cycling challenge where the lovers of two wheels will face one of the longest mountain passes in Europe with more than 38km of ascent, with a positive difference in altitude of 2.250m.
The Sierra Nevada Límite, which includes the SNL Gran fondo and the Subida al Veleta, is organized by TerroIncógnita, is part of the provincial circuit of the Diputación de Granada, and has the sponsorship of HSN, Stellantis, Cetursa Sierra Nevada, as well as the collaboration of the municipalities of Cenes, Monachil, La Peza and Pinos Genil.
RANKINGS SIERRA NEVADA LIMIT 2025
146KM
MEN
1.- Fernando Romera. 4:56:28 h
Juan José Pérez Díaz. 4:59:31h
3.- Jorge Nuñéz Entrena. 4:59:34h
WOMEN
1.- Esther Maqueda Perez 5:56:53h
2.- Mar Galindo… 6:10:53h
3.- Diana Paniagua… 6:32:55h
www.sierranevadalimite.com
