At 1,023 metres, Andorra la Vella is the highest capital in Europe, and the country around it barely goes downhill from there — the average elevation sits near 2,000 metres, and the Port d'Envalira, the highest paved pass in the Pyrenees, tops out at 2,408.
Over fifty professional cyclists have made Andorra home, among them Julian Alaphilippe, Egan Bernal, and Sepp Kuss, who rode away on the Port d'Envalira and Col de Beixalís to win a Tour de France stage into Andorra la Vella in 2021.
The Vuelta a España has finished here repeatedly, most recently over the Collada de Beixalís, Coll d'Ordino, and the Comella pass. Beyond those, riders have a full menu of first-category and beyond-category climbs within a short ride of the capital — La Rabassa, Coll de la Gallina, Coll d'Ordino, Arcalís — few of them flat, all of them well paved.
Altitude, terrain, and a Pyrenean training culture built up over decades make this less a cycling destination than a cycling address.
