As the Around The World route tries to free itself of the shackles of mountains, reservoirs and lakes in central southern Spain, it takes another trip east (actually it’s east/south east but whisper that quietly because anything south is bad news) on what looks like a trip that might yet go east for at least one more stage before heading north. 752’s a descender, but only after it’s thrown a few hundred feet of climbing your way before seven miles are on the clock. It’s a stage of three parts: the first part’s uphill; the second part’s downhill and the third part’s lumpy flat.
The rollout from the middle of nowhere snakes its way up the valley between hills north and south before peaking after six and a half miles at the highest elevation on the stage as the road is concluding a right/left/right/left set of bends. The good news, if indeed it is good, is that the descent is shorter than the climb, and that makes it steeper and more fun. It also meanders about a bit so if it’s speed around corners that floats your boat, then you’ll enjoy the section between seven and eleven miles.
The descent bottoms out as the road is approaching Puebla de Don Rodrigo, and it wouldn’t be a town in the foothills without a river going through it. This one is the Arroyo del Chorrito and the highway crosses it after twelve miles as it (the road) is sweeping left into town from the west. Out of town, the road starts heading south east on a lumpy flat road and after fifteen miles arrives alongside the Guadiana River which is taking a huge meandering loop beneath the hillside between miles fifteen and twenty, which also doubles up as the finish. It’s a friendship between features that’s set to continue on stage 753.
There’s a small climb at seventeen miles where the road skips over the hill while the river goes around it, and there’s something similar at nineteen miles where the same thing happens approaching the finish.
Distance: 20 miles / 32 kilometres
Ascent: 853 feet / 260 metres
RGT Magic Road: dE6ZdDZHOFAv
Max elevation: 2240 ft
Min elevation: 1493 ft
Total climbing: 852 ft
Total descent: -1124 ft
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