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CYCLING IN GIRONA · ROUTE GUIDE

ROCACORBA

Eleven kilometres of the climb every pro in Girona uses for testing. The town's signature test piece — quiet roads, even gradient, a closed café at the summit, and a view that earns the climb back twice.

Rocacorba climb above Banyoles — the test-piece pros use to gauge form before the season

Surface

Road

Climb length

10.6 km

Avg gradient

6.5%

Max gradient

13%

Loop distance

70 km

Loop elevation

1,400 m

WHY THIS CLIMB

THE PRO ROAD MOST AMATEURS NEVER FIND.

Rocacorba isn't a tourist climb. It's the bench mark every pro in Girona uses to figure out where their season is. Pogačar has a time on it. Froome has a time on it. The legend Tao Geoghegan Hart, the Yates twins, half the Ineos roster — they've all set markers on this hill. If you've ever wondered how amateurs and pros actually compare, this is the place to find out.

WHAT TO EXPECT

THE RIDE, START TO FINISH.

  1. A flat 25 km warm-up out of Girona along quiet farm roads to Pujarnol — the village at the foot.

  2. Roughly 10.6 km of climbing at an honest 6.5% average. Even gradient at the bottom, two harder ramps in the middle, and a final kilometre that touches 13% if you've still got a kick left.

  3. A closed café and a radio mast at the summit. The café shut years ago — bring your own coffee or save it for the descent.

  4. The view east over Banyoles lake and west into the Pyrenees foothills. On a clear October morning it's the best summit panorama within an hour of the city.

  5. An eleven-kilometre descent on the same road you climbed. Smooth tarmac, no surprise switchbacks, fast on a road bike.

PRACTICAL

HOW TO RIDE IT WELL.

Where to start

Most riders roll out from Girona old town and head north to Banyoles, picking up the climb in Pujarnol after about 25 km. From Can Sagnari, our base on camp, it's a 12 km warm-up.

Best time of day

Early. The road's quiet at any hour, but morning shadows on the lower slopes keep the temperature down and the light on the descent is the postcard.

Coffee stop

Café in Banyoles old town on the roll-back — a few options on the lake-front. The summit café is closed.

Watch out for

Goats. There's a herd that lives near the upper hairpins and they wander across the road in the cooler months. Slow down, take the photo, ride on.

Strava segments to look up: Rocacorba · Pujarnol to Rocacorba summit

RIDE IT WITH ROADMAN

ROCACORBA IS ON THE
GIRONA ROAD CAMP.

Day 5 of the Roadman Girona Road Camp. Two pace groups, follow car the whole week, sixteen riders, Anthony in the group every day. €995.

See the Girona Road camp →

MORE GIRONA CLIMBS

THE REST OF THE PLAYBOOK.

Road · 9.7 km

ELS ÀNGELS

The local climb every Girona pro has done a thousand times. Ten kilometres of even tempo, a sanctuary at the top, and the cleanest view back over the city you can earn on a road bike.

Road · 11.8 km

MARE DE DÉU DEL MONT

Twelve kilometres of mountain. The big day-out climb of the Girona region — long, steep at the top, and the kind of summit you tell people about for the rest of the year.

Road · 12 km

COLL DE BRACONS

The forgotten classic west of Girona. Twelve kilometres of beech-forest tarmac that climbs out of the Garrotxa volcanic park, summits with a view down into the Vall d'en Bas, and rolls back through some of the quietest roads in Catalonia.

THE FULL GUIDE

CYCLING IN GIRONA →

Routes, weather, where to ride, where to coffee, why the pros moved here. The full Girona handbook.