The Costa Blanca is one of the hotspots for pro cycling teams to prepare for the upcoming season. Some of the best pro cyclists in the world spend a fair amount of time in this neck of the woods when they’re not racing.
It’s easy to see why, with its mild climate in the winter months and easy access to the mountains.
Route
This route is probably be one of the classic loops in the area. It summits the Puerto de Bèrnia and the Coll de Rates. It doesn’t quite matter where you start, as long as you can make your way to Benissa or Xaló. This route starts in Calp and tackles the Puerto de Bèrnia first, but you can easily make variations of the route, as can be seen on the route profile above.
There’s not much warming up if you want to leave Calp as soon as possible upon embarking. Straight away you have to go into climbing mode with steep bits up to 14%. That should get your blood pumping for a while. On the undulating road to Benissa, you can make some speed and ramp up the kilometers before you head into the hills.
Apart from the last 2 kilometers, the Puerto de Bèrnia from this side is not a tough climb whatsoever. It is a beautiful ride with perfect tarmac, and surprisingly little traffic. Lots of twists and turns that reveal spectacular views of the coast and the mountains make this a highly enjoyable ride up.
Towards the end of the climb, this becomes a proper climb. Long stretches of 10% and more will get you out of the saddle. And with little to no protection from the sun, any cyclist will suffer on this last stretch of the climb.
The descent is fun but the road is narrow at times and some corners might be a bit tricky, but nothing exceptional. You loop back to Xaló, with the next destination Parcent. Leaving Parcent, the famous climb of Coll de Rates await. You can already see the winding road snaking to the summit from Parcent.
The climb is steady and it’s easy to settle into a rhythm to get you comfortably to the restaurant at the top. This being such a famous climb, you’ll see plenty of other cyclists who don’t play by the easy riding book, and like to compare themselves to the pro riders on Strava. The climb is tough enough to go all out and also long enough to spectacularly bonk out for the ones who overestimated themselves.
It’s a nice little climb that isn’t exceptional in any way, but due to its convenient location in the world, this is one of the favorite training climbs in the world.
You continue onwards and after a short and beautiful descent, you climb higher and higher. Many riders turn back at the top of Coll de Rates, but I think this is the most beautiful and most enjoyable part of the entire region. Granted, it’s more climbing and you’re headed to no-mans land, but it’s totally worth it.
And you’ll be rewarded for your efforts with a pleasant, 20km descent back to the road to Benissa. There are a few bumps here and there, but the last 50 (!) kilometers are mostly downhill to Calp.
Fueling up
Lots of stops on route in towns such as Xaló. La Musette is a cycling coffee spot frequented by the pros, and conveniently located on route between the two climbs. Good coffee and friendly service, too.