This is not just the ride into Granada. The 52.1-kilometre stage puts most of its climbing right at the start, rising from Santa Cruz del Comercio to almost 966 metres before settling into dry rolling country: olive groves, open fields, low hills and quiet roads. Around the first third of the ride, the route reaches La Zahora, an abandoned former cortijo settlement near Castillo de Tajarja. It is worth a short stop, not for services, but for the empty streets, broken walls and the sense of a place left behind. After that, the road becomes easier and gradually loses height across the agricultural plain west of Granada. The finish brings a sharp change of scale: Granada’s old quarters, the Alhambra above the city and, on clear days, the Sierra Nevada behind it.
