Its status as the highest paved road in Europe should mean amateurs flock to its slopes to test their mettle
n paper, the Pico de Veleta boasts the kind of stats that should be enough to put it among the most famous climbs in the world. Its length and elevation should mean it is talked about in the same breath as any celebrated Alpine col or Pyrenean peak. Its location in Spain’s Sierra Nevada mountain range should mean it has decades of pro history; there should be numerous accounts of athletic heroism unfolding on its slopes. It should be a Vuelta a España mainstay, the jewel in the crown of many a Queen stage’s route profile. Its status as the highest paved road in Europe should mean amateurs flock to its slopes to test their mettle, just
