Quebrantahuesos 2013

Quebrantahuesos  [pronouced kay-bran-tah-oo-ay’-sos] means “bone crusher” or Osprey in Spanish and it is an appropriate name for a sportive that test riders on the soaring cols of the Pyrenees.

The quality of the route and race organisation is underlined by the inclusion of the Quebrantahuesos in the UCI Golden Bike series of the best cyclosportives in the world. The Quebrantahuesos marcha cicloturista (also known as la quebranta) starts and finishes in the Spanish town of Sabiñánigo at the foot of the Pyrenees. Over 205km cyclists are pushed to their limits as the combination of a long route and tough Pyrenean climbs takes its toll. The race and the area is steeped in cycling history with many stages of the Vuelta a España having finished in Sabiñánigo.

Quebrantahuesos Event Details

• Date: Saturday 22nd June 2013 – TBC
• Distance: 205km
• Climbing: 3500m
• Start and Finish: Sabiñánigo, Spain
• Nearest Airport: Zaragoza
• Accommodation: Recommended places to stay

Quebrantahuesos Route Recce

Quebrantahuesos Course Profile

The parcours features three main climbs:

• Col du Somport (1,640m) is the first climb to warm you up
• Col du Marie Blanque (1,035m) is a short but sharp which has featured 14 times in the Tour de France
• Col du Portalet (1,795m) also known as the El Portalet marks the border between France and Spain

The distinctive humps of the Col du Somport (1,640m), Col du Marie Blanque (1,035m) and Col du Portalet (1,795m) stand out on the profile

Training For Quebrantahuesos

Two British Army adages come to mind when thinking about training for a sportive like this;

• K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid): It’s very easy to read too much and try and overcomplicate cycling training. This sportive is long (205km) and involves tough climbs (3500m+ of climbing); keeping these two things in mind will help keep your training focussed on base miles and climbing practice
• Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance: Cycling in the Pyrenees is not to be underestimated. Your training plan will need a good amount of base miles throughout winter training and some specific alpine cycling training too. The chances are your local cycling clubs “hilly ride” just won’t be a realistic enough preparation for the cols awaiting you in the Pyrenees

La Quebranta Training Tips

1. CYCLEFILM have an full length version of the recon video featured above full of training tips for Quebrantahuesos. It’s available for just £5.99 as a digital download: Quebrantahuesos recon video
2. Training consistently using a 12 week sportive training plan will get you in shape and improve your confidence
3. Cycling in the Pyrenees is hard to replicate in training, a sportive training holiday in the Alps can help you get race fit

Alpine Cycling Training Camps

SwissRetreat run cycling tours in the Swiss Alps that are great training holidays for tough cyclosportive events. If you are taking part in a European sportive then a cycling holiday in the Swiss Alps is the perfect preparation.

• Watch and ride stages of the Tour de Romandie in person
• Get in shape on our sportive training holidays that include local Swiss sportives
• Earn your Alpine Cycling Certificate in the ultimate cycling challenge the Swiss Alpenbrevet

Quebrantahuesos Entry

As one of the most popular sportives in Europe it’s perhaps unsurprising that Quebrantahuesos consistently sells out pre-registration places with entry to the race determined by a draw. If you want to add this great sportive to your palmarès then follow the Twitter and Facebook accounts below for details of when pre-registation will open. If you’d like to commit to a sportive goal now then checkout these Swiss sportives that you can enter today.

Useful Websites for La Quebranta

• Official website: Marcha Cicloturista Quebrantahuesos
• Twitter feed: Follow @QHyTR and join the conversation with the hashtag #QH2013
• Facebook: Meet fellow riders on the Facebook page

Still searching for a sportive in Europe? Then check out our sportive calendar for the best handpicked cycling events in Europe including the beautiful and less crowded Cyclotour du Leman in Switzerland.