It is safe to say that the modern professional peloton has ridden everywhere. There likely isn’t a mile of the road-cycling world that hasn’t been covered by one of the 500 riders in cycling’s top tier, yet year after year, more and more pros are choosing to make Girona, Spain their home. Girona isn’t mearly a convenient place for professionals to ride, it is an inspiration, offering perfect riding experiences.
“With each passing kilometer ridden, my love for Catalonia grows. Like being in love with a beautiful woman, the faults are overlooked while, with time, there is an awareness of a greater beauty.”
Michael Barry
Among all these roads, one climb stands out as an emerging legend – Rocacorba. It might not be name you currently recognize, but the same would have been said about the Col de la Madone back in the late 1990’s. Rocacorba is a 13.8km climb, averaging a reasonable 6% gradient, but with a few 10-15% sections to challenge your strength. It is the type of climb that can’t be faked, you will know exactly how well you’re riding, but your reward is an incredible panoramic view – showing both the snow-capped Pyrenees and the still blue of the Mediterranean. Rocacorba has become the test for top pros to measure their form. There are many stories of cyclists testing their form here – David Millar rushing to find form ahead of the 2009 Vuelta; GreenEDGE hardman Svein Tuft recording five hours of intervals work on the climb or Ryder Hesjedal offering the first glimpses of the form that would see him finish 7th overall in the 2010 Tour de France.
We offer you the Rapha Randonnée Weekend Catalonia as a way to experience this perfect cycling experience. Join us for a long weekend, experience the beauty of Catalonia, test yourself against the Rocacorba.
Further reading / watching about Catalonia / Rocacorba
