La Cantabrona 2026
Official march website →Wind forecast for race day
Weather forecast starts being reliable around 7 days out. As the date gets closer you will see wind, temperature and rain chance over the route here. In the meantime, see below how the weather behaved in past editions.
The route
La Cantabrona reaches its tenth edition on 9 May, starting from Polanco on the bay of Santander in central Cantabria. Ten years is a meaningful milestone for a northern Spanish sportive, where competition from other events along the Cantabrian coast is real and the local cycling community is demanding. Two routes are on offer: 170 km with 3,364 metres of climbing, and a 110 km option. The 3,364 metres of elevation gain over 170 km is not inflated — this is a genuinely hard day out.
The 170 km route covers the interior valleys and passes of Cantabria, with views of the Picos de Europa from the highest points. Cantabrian terrain is deceptive: the individual climbs are not enormous, but they come in sequences, the ground is rarely flat, and the dense Atlantic forest means the real effort is always slightly higher than the profile suggests. The 110 km route is a sensible choice for riders who want the Cantabrona experience without committing to a full mountain day.
May in Cantabria is green, cool, and wet: 12-18°C in the valleys, cooler on the ridges when the wind blows. The most frequent wind direction in this season is SW off the Atlantic, loaded with moisture. In the valley bottoms and forested sections, wind is barely noticeable. On the open ridges and cols, the exposure changes sharply. The higher passes can see SW winds of 20-35 km/h at the col itself, and the crests facing the Cantabrian Sea can get cold northerlies even on clear-sky days. Knowing which passes are likely to give you a headwind based on their orientation makes a real difference on race day.
Polanco is 20 minutes from Santander, which has train, bus, and flight connections. Santander airport is small but serves several European cities directly. For 170 km with nearly 3,400 metres of climbing in May: pack a light waterproof, gloves, and the right mindset. It may well rain, and it can still be one of the best days you have spent on a bike this year. That is Cantabria.
Variants and GPX
| Route | Distance | Elevation | GPX |
|---|---|---|---|
| 170 km | 170 km | — | — |
| 110 km | 110 km | — | — |
Past editions
Real Open-Meteo weather on each edition day.
| Year | Date | Wind | Tº | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | May 12, 2024 | 19.1 km/h W | 15.3º | 0.9 mm |
| 2025 | May 11, 2025 | 33.9 km/h W | 17.1º | 3 mm |
How to register
Registration, price and rules are on the official website of the organization. Official march website →
More information
All marches in Spain
Keep reading about planning routes with wind
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