SDC08 Pamplona-Haro

Eighth stage from Oekene (Roeselare) to Santiago de Compostela: from Pamplona to Haro, 134 kilometers and 1379 meters of elevation.

After leaving Pamplona, you spend the entire day on very rural roads and there are two mountains on the menu. You start with a flat section, riding 15 km along the ‘Rio Agro’ until you reach the outskirts of Pamplona. In Ibero, you cross the ‘Rio Arakil,’ a tributary of the ‘Rio Agro,’ and the first climb begins. You reach the summit (840m) at km 23. After a long descent, there are two small climbs: one after 37 km and one after 44 km.

Then follows a flat and slightly rolling stretch along the ‘Rio Ega’ that you follow upstream. At km 68, there is another upward bend and a stretch of false flat. At km 80, you begin the second climb of the day. You ride to an elevation of 963 m near Lapoblación. The summit is after 91 km. After a long descent with regular upward bends, we reach Haro.

Haro is a municipality in the Spanish province and region La Rioja with 11,806 inhabitants. Haro is located in the northwestern part of the Rioja wine region and many wineries are established here. Around 1860, a railway line was completed that connected the town to the port city Bilbao. Around the same time, many French wine merchants flocked to the region to buy wine. The vineyards around Bordeaux were affected by the phylloxera, and they sought Spanish wine to meet the demand. The railway connection facilitated the export of wine, and Haro has managed to maintain this important position.