AFP, CALPE, Spain
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years.
Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too.
During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists.
Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar, front, left, and his UAE Team Emirates teammates train in Valencia, Spain, on Dec. 10.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe flock to the southeast of Spain to take advantage of the Costa’s Mediterranean climate, its little-used roads and its bustling seaside hospitality sector that rolls out the red carpet for them from Calpe to Benidorm.
Sixteen of the 18 men’s World Tour teams have set up their winter quarters there to prepare for the new season, with some riders staying on privately between camps to take advantage of the conditions. Belgian double Olympic gold medalist Evenepoel has even bought an apartment in the area.
“Within a 50km radius, 80 percent of the peloton is here at the same time in December and January, and sometimes even in February. It’s quite unique,” said Philippe Mauduit, race director of Groupama-FDJ.
Add in the women’s teams, outfits from lower divisions and even the juniors, and it can all build quickly into a traffic jam.
“Just yesterday we were doing tests on the Coll de Rates. It was like a motorway for cyclists, there were cyclists everywhere,” said Spanish rider Alex Aranburu, a new arrival at Cofidis.
“Sometimes it’s hard to do the exercises because it’s so crowded,” added Frenchman Valentin Paret-Peintre of Soudal Quick-Step. “There are other cool places to ride in Spain, but everyone comes here. It’s fashionable.”
Rush hour on the Coll de Rates — where Pogacar just set the record ascent — looked like a scene from downtown Manhattan.
As the pros go rhythmically up and down the hill as part of their training exercises, they are tracked by bands of enthusiastic amateurs keen to see their favorite riders.
“They get into the peloton, they follow as long as they can, they turn around because they come across another team. For us, it’s not disruptive. On the contrary, it creates a nice atmosphere,” Mauduit said.
The same point is highlighted by organizers of local cycling tours.
“I get a lot of people writing to me asking if it’s possible to see the pros,” said Iliana Roumenova Ilkova, a former Bulgarian professional ballerina who set up Paradisebike13 to guide enthusiasts around Calpe. “As I know a few of the riders, they tell me where they’re going, so I arrange for us to be there, too. The other day we ran into Pogacar and Alaphilippe, who said hello to me.”
However, there is a flip side to the vast influx of cyclists.
In the village of Parcent, nestled at the foot of the Coll de Rates, “property prices have doubled,” she said.
Hoteliers down by the coast are rubbing their hands.
Thanks to the arrival of cyclists, bolstering the traditional numbers of British and Dutch retirees, accommodation providers are able to stay open all year.
“We’re made very welcome, with beautiful rooms with sea views, a very high standard of catering, meeting rooms, and all this at attractive rates,” Mauduit said.
“And that helps them [hoteliers] to maintain the employment pool,” he added.
The Groupama-FDJ race director also pointed to the Costa Blanca’s accessibility as another advantage.
“We’re halfway between Valencia and Alicante, so that gives you a range of low-cost flights. In December, 120 people go. If you pay 60 euros (US$61.86) for your plane ticket instead of 600 euros, it’s a great help for your budget,” he said.
In Calpe, several teams often stay in the same hotels, which is not necessarily to the liking of all the pros.
For Paret-Peintre, that means he can go riding and have a coffee with friends.
“In competition, I’ll do everything I can to beat them,” the 23-year-old rider said. “But in training or at the hotel, they are first and foremost colleagues.”
