Tour of Colombia delivers a brutal 88-kilometre climb to 4,138 metres

Thursday 13 August 2026 - 10:55

By: Sahili Aya

Tour of Colombia delivers a brutal 88-kilometre climb to 4,138 metres

The Tour of Colombia delivered one of the most extraordinary mountain challenges on the international cycling calendar this week, with riders facing an uninterrupted 88-kilometre ascent before reaching a finish line more than four kilometres above sea level.

Diego Camargo mastered the exceptional stage on Wednesday, claiming victory after almost three and a half hours of racing. For the Colombian rider, it was a second triumph on a route that has become one of the defining tests of the race.

The scale of the challenge was remarkable even by professional cycling standards.

An ascent unlike any other

The centerpiece was the climb of El Sifón, a mountain road that rises continuously for 88 kilometers.

The average gradient was 4.3%, but that figure masks the difficulty of the route, which included sections reaching 12%.

According to the race organizers, the climb represents the longest continuous ascent featured in a UCI-sanctioned cycling event.

Riders began the stage at only 360 metres above sea level and gradually climbed to an extraordinary 4,138 metres.

That represents a vertical gain of approximately 3,778 metres over the course of the ascent.

The final section became even steeper, reaching an average gradient of around 6% as riders approached the summit finish.

The altitude becomes an opponent

The length of the climb was only one part of the ordeal.

As the peloton moved higher into the Colombian mountains, the air became thinner and temperatures fell sharply. By the finish, riders were racing in conditions of barely 5 degrees Celsius.

The physiological demands are considerable at such elevations. With less available oxygen, maintaining a high intensity becomes increasingly difficult, while the prolonged effort leaves little opportunity for recovery.

The riders therefore had to manage not only the gradient and distance but also the changing environment around them.

The stage effectively transformed the mountain itself into a test of endurance, pacing and physiological resilience.

Murillo adds another major obstacle

The route also included the demanding Murillo climb, an hors catégorie ascent of 21 kilometres averaging 6%.

The difficulty was amplified by its position on the course. Riders tackled the climb after already reaching an altitude of close to 3,000 metres, meaning the peloton had little opportunity to escape the effects of altitude before beginning another sustained test.

By that point, fatigue was already accumulating and the reduced oxygen concentration made every additional kilometre more demanding.

Camargo conquers a stage built for climbers

Diego Camargo ultimately emerged as the strongest rider on the extraordinary route.

His victory came after an effort lasting nearly three and a half hours, confirming his ability to withstand one of the most demanding climbing challenges in Colombian racing.

Winning such a stage requires more than raw climbing power. Riders must distribute their energy over an exceptionally long ascent, anticipate changes in gradient and adapt to increasingly difficult atmospheric conditions.

For Camargo, the result was especially significant because it marked his second victory on the same extraordinary stage.

A giant test in the Colombian mountains

The stage offered a spectacular reminder of why Colombia occupies such a distinctive place in world cycling.

The country's geography creates racing conditions rarely encountered elsewhere, with roads that can rise from relatively low elevations to extreme altitudes over extraordinary distances.

The El Sifón stage takes that characteristic to another level: nearly 4,000 metres of vertical climbing, almost 90 kilometres of continuous ascent and a finish in freezing conditions above 4,100 metres.

For the riders who reached the summit, the achievement was as much a battle against altitude and endurance as it was a conventional cycling race.