This is a video of me riding the final few hundred metres of the classic hill climb on Mallorca, Sa Calobra. The road is a crazy 10km climb with numerous hairpin bends and switchbacks. The average gradient is 7% and there is a height gain of almost 700m.
This is the third time that I have ridden Sa Calobra on the Spanish island and I wanted to record a time of under 50 minutes. I have no doubt I could shave off time if I drove to the base of the hill but I have usually done this climb as part of a day’s ride.
Last week, I rode a total route of 108kms, from Port de Pollensa, via Lluc and the climb of Coll de Femenia to reach the top of Sa Calobra. A fabulous descent was followed almost immediately by the climb (no stopping for lunch and a bottle of Coke as in previous years).
I was accompanied by Nick, a very fit and encouraging group cycle leader from the Legro’s Cycle Training Camp. His words helped to push me towards the finish line for a final time of 49 mins 17 seconds. (The video says 52 minutes but this was not quite right after Nick took a closer look at the stats.)
Thanks to Nick for taking this video on his Garmin Virb, which shows me grimacing my way to the finish.
Afterwards, we returned to the Port via Selva and Campanet to make the outing a big loop.