Day 3 Pyrenees & Euskadi: Puerto del Portillon and Superbagneres

It was another super hot day today in the Pyrenees. Temps were ~35c/90f and I feel over-cooked right now. We opted for a slightly easier day with just 95km and 2000m of climbing. First climb on the docket was Puerto del Portillon. To get there, we rode a loop around a mountain range and crossed into Spain. We found Portillon out the back of a small village and ascended into the wooded mountains. It was just a cat-1 climb but very enjoyable.


We then quickly headed down into the town of Bagneres to begin the 1200m climb to reach the ski station at Superbagneres. The Tour has been here a half dozen times but not since 1991. Superbagneres was very hard, especially with the high temps. After 90 minutes of hard slog I reached the summit. Totally worthwhile as usual; the views are amazing.


Anyway, today was our last day in the Pyrenees. After the ride, we packed up the car and drove 400km to Basque Country (Euskadi) which is where I am now.


Tomorrow will be an adventure. Basques are into cycling big-time so I am keen to check out the local scene.