Road Bike Training on Mallorca: Following in the Pros' Footsteps

Anyone who has always fancied road cycling can hire a bike from a bike hire outlet on Mallorca and follow the famous pro training routes.

The island has plenty of flat terrain that's perfectly suited to road bikes when riders really want to put in some speed:

Playa de Palma - Llucmajor, a 49-kilometre route

The roads between the two destinations are tarmacked and used by very little motorised traffic. From Playa de Palma the route heads to El Arenal, where riders turn right at the roundabout and follow the signs to Cami de Sa Torre. From there it continues to Sa Torre Llucmajor, where you could stop off at a café, before the route runs back via Galdent and Can Pelin, again over Sa Torre and in the opposite direction towards Playa de Palma.

Pto. de Pollenca - Campos, an 86-kilometre route

This route is one of Mallorca's officially signposted cycling routes, so getting lost isn't an issue. It's marked with the number 1 on the signposts and is almost entirely flat, with the few climbs rising no more than 250 metres. The longest of these climbs lies between Sencelles and Algaida. From Pto. de Pollenca the route heads to Campanet, then on to Selva, Inca and Sencelles, and continues via Algaida and Llucmajor to Campos.

Palma de Mallorca - Campos, a 53-kilometre route

This is road number 6 according to the official signposting of the Mallorcan tourism association, and it's even flatter than number 1 (with the greatest elevation change being 150 metres). From Palma, a genuine, colour-marked cycle path runs along the sandy beach and past Palma airport to Can Pastilla. For several kilometres, riders travel along the Playa de Palma and the balnearios via Ciudad Jardin and Can Pastilla to the marina at l'Arenal. From there it goes left over a small rise onto the road towards Bahia Grande and Campos.