The Mallorca 312 is a 312km mass-start sportive in late April with around 5,000m of climbing. The defining feature isn't the distance — it's the front-loaded profile. The first 130km contains every serious climb, including Sa Calobra (9.5km at 7%) at km 80. The closing 180km is flat-to-rolling and pack-dominated. Riders who treat the climbs as 'the hard part' and the flats as 'the recovery' have it backwards.
Climbing pacing. Target 60-65% of FTP for the opening climbing block. Sa Calobra at km 80 is where every ego mistake gets paid for. Cap power at 75% of FTP on Sa Calobra — if your FTP is 280W, that's 210W on the bottom slopes climbing to no more than 220W on the steeper middle section. The temptation to ride it 'at sportive pace' is the single biggest reason 312 riders blow up between km 150 and km 220.
The flat closing 180km is a different sport. Once you crest the final categorised climb, switch to tempo (76-87% FTP) inside groups, draft economy becomes the single biggest determinant of finishing time. A 4-rider rotating paceline at sportive tempo can save 40-60W per rider — that's the difference between a 12-hour and a 14-hour finish. Stay calm in the wind, take short turns, eat on every flat stretch.
Fuelling on a 12-hour event. Dr David Dunne's discussions of modern World Tour fuelling on the Roadman Cycling Podcast point to 90-120g of carbs per hour as the new amateur baseline for ultra-distance events, with 700-900ml of fluid and 700-1000mg of sodium each hour in Mallorca's late-April heat. That's roughly 1100-1400g of carbs across the day — most amateurs eat half that and bonk somewhere in the closing 80km. Use the fuelling calculator and gut-train every long ride beforehand.