Over the past few years, two names have dominated the world of European cycling getaways: Mallorca and Girona. Both places have become household names among cyclists looking for sunshine, smooth roads, and beautiful climbs. Both have hosted professional teams, group rides, and thousands of riders each season. But for those of us who live and work in Mallorca and see riders from all over the world arriving for their first real cycling camp, the question often comes up: which one is better?
It’s a fair comparison. Girona, on the mainland just north of Barcelona, has built a reputation as a cycling hub. Many professional riders base themselves there for the convenience of its location, its access to mountain routes, and its thriving café culture. It’s a lively, compact city where you can grab a morning coffee and spot familiar faces from the professional peloton. But if you’re looking for a place that offers more space, more variety, and more of that pure, uninterrupted cycling experience, the kind that reminds you why you fell in love with the sport in the first place, Mallorca stands in a league of its own.
What makes Mallorca different isn’t just the scenery, though that’s part of it. It’s the rhythm of life on the island, the consistency of the weather, the sheer quality of the roads, and the way cycling is woven into everyday life here. This is not just a place where cyclists visit. It’s a place that lives and breathes the sport. The locals are used to sharing the roads with riders, and the island’s economy is built to welcome them. There’s an ease to cycling here that you don’t often find elsewhere.
The geography plays a huge part in that. Mallorca is compact enough that you can explore the entire island from one base, but large enough that the terrain never feels repetitive. From the heart of the island in Alaró, where Velocamp Mallorca is based, you can reach every kind of riding in a single day. Head north and you’re climbing through the Tramuntana Mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage site that stretches across the island’s spine. Head south or east and the landscape opens into rolling farmland and flat coastal roads that are perfect for recovery days. The contrast is striking. One day you’re grinding up the iconic hairpins of Sa Calobra, and the next you’re cruising through quiet country lanes surrounded by vineyards and almond trees.
Girona certainly has its own highlights. The roads into the Gavarres hills and towards Rocacorba are well known, and the views are beautiful. But the variety is limited. The routes are longer to access, and the riding often feels more like a series of out-and-back loops rather than a connected network. In Mallorca, the roads link together seamlessly. You can plan endless loops of different lengths, elevations, and intensities, all starting and finishing at the same base. That’s why professional teams return here every winter for pre-season training. It’s not just the beauty of the rides but the practicality. Everything works.
The weather is another area where Mallorca clearly wins. The island averages more than 300 days of sunshine a year. Even in winter, it’s rare to see a full day of rain, and temperatures stay mild enough for shorts and short sleeves most of the year. Girona, on the other hand, sits inland, surrounded by hills, and its climate is less predictable. Winter mornings can be cold, and rain is more common in the shoulder seasons. When you’re trying to plan a full week of riding, those small differences matter. Mallorca gives you consistency. You wake up knowing that the roads will be dry, the air warm, and the sun already lighting up the mountains. It makes training easier, recovery faster, and the whole experience far more enjoyable.
Then there’s the quality of the roads themselves. Mallorca’s tarmac is legendary. Smooth, well maintained, and designed with cyclists in mind. Even the smaller lanes feel purpose built for riding. Traffic is light, and the drivers are used to sharing the space. Most will give you plenty of room and even a friendly wave as they pass. It’s one of the few places in Europe where you can truly switch off from the stress of traffic and focus on the ride. Girona’s roads are good, but busier. You’ll find yourself sharing the routes with cars, tractors, and local commuters more often than you’d like, especially near the city. On Mallorca, the moment you roll out of Alaró or Pollença, the world seems to quiet down. The hum of tyres on perfect tarmac is all you hear.
The climbs here also feel different. The Tramuntana range is filled with climbs that have become legends in the cycling world: Coll de Sóller, Coll de sa Batalla, and of course Sa Calobra. They’re long, steady, and beautifully engineered, winding through pine forest and past cliffs that drop down to the sea. The gradients are gentle enough to find rhythm but challenging enough to build strength. They are climbs you can fall in love with, the kind that make you want to come back again and again just to feel that flow. Girona has Rocacorba, which is steep and intense, but it lacks the scenic variation and rideability that Mallorca’s climbs offer. The Tramuntana Mountains are simply built for cycling.
To add to that, the infrastructure in Mallorca has evolved entirely around the cycling community. There are countless cafés and cycling stops dotted along every major route, each one ready with fresh orange juice, homemade cakes, and a genuine welcome for riders. The island feels like it understands what cyclists need. You’ll find bike shops with professional mechanics in every major town, hotels with dedicated bike storage and washing stations, and locals who know that half the people in Lycra are here to chase climbs rather than coffee. It’s a small detail, but it makes a big difference.
From a training perspective, Mallorca gives riders more options. You can work on climbing one day, tempo riding the next, and flat time trial pacing the day after. The terrain teaches you balance and efficiency. It’s ideal for improving as a complete cyclist. That’s one of the reasons Velocamp Mallorca was built here. Our camps are designed to give recreational riders a taste of professional training. We ride as a team, supported by our crew and team car, and cover six days of carefully structured routes that mix climbing, endurance, and recovery. Every detail is handled so riders can focus entirely on the experience, the roads, the scenery, the effort, and the camaraderie.
And it’s not just about what happens on the bike. Mallorca has mastered the art of recovery too. When the group rolls back into the villa after a long day, everything is taken care of. Fresh smoothies and homemade cakes are waiting on the terrace, the massage tables are ready, and the compression boots hum softly in the background. Riders relax by the pool, share stories from the day, and soak in the warm air that never seems to leave. Our private chef prepares food designed for performance and recovery, and in the evenings, the group gathers for coaching sessions with Ladi Demko. Ladi is a thirty-year veteran of the sport, a former UCI sports director, and has completed five Tours de France, working alongside some of the biggest names in cycling. His experience brings a level of knowledge that transforms the way riders think about training, pacing, and recovery. Girona may have cafés and culture, but it doesn’t have that same sense of total immersion that comes from a week like this.
Another key difference is the overall atmosphere. Girona is a city. It’s charming and vibrant, filled with life and tourists, but it’s still a city. You ride out through traffic, stop at lights, and weave your way to the quieter roads. Mallorca feels like freedom. The island moves at the rhythm of the bike. The roads start right outside your door, and the moment you roll away, you’re surrounded by nature. Olive trees, sea air, mountain light — everything about the place feels peaceful. It’s not unusual to spend a full day riding here and see more cyclists than cars. That simplicity is part of what makes Mallorca so addictive.
It’s also what gives riders a sense of flow that’s hard to find anywhere else. When you’re climbing through the Tramuntana Mountains and the road curls endlessly through the forest, you start to feel connected to the landscape. You settle into tempo, breathing in time with the turns, and before long the ride becomes meditative. Riders often say that their best form of the year comes not from pushing themselves harder, but from finding that rhythm in Mallorca. You ride, you recover, you ride again. It becomes second nature.
Mallorca also has an intangible quality that you only understand once you’ve been here. It’s the combination of the scenery, the sunshine, the people, and the shared sense of purpose that seems to unite everyone on the road. You’ll see solo riders lost in their rhythm, small groups working together through the wind, and big pelotons cruising in formation. It’s cycling culture in its purest form, and it’s everywhere you look.
At Velocamp Mallorca, we see riders arrive every week who have ridden all over Europe. Many of them have been to Girona and loved it, but after a few days on the island, the feedback is always the same. The roads are smoother, the routes are more beautiful, and the atmosphere is just more relaxed. You can train hard here, but you can also breathe. You can feel like a professional for a week without the intensity that comes with racing. The structure of the camp gives you everything you need — from on-road support and guidance to proper recovery and nutrition — while still keeping the spirit of adventure and fun alive.
That’s what makes Mallorca stand apart. It isn’t just about performance. It’s about balance. You ride hard, you recover well, you eat incredible food, and you enjoy the company of people who love the sport as much as you do. By the end of the week, everyone leaves feeling stronger, happier, and more confident on the bike. And that feeling doesn’t fade. Riders tell us months later that something about Mallorca changed the way they think about cycling.
So yes, Girona will always be part of the conversation. It’s a lovely place, with history and character, and for pros living in Spain year-round, it’s convenient. But for those looking for the ultimate cycling experience, the combination of world-class roads, consistent sunshine, and a setting that feels like it was designed for cyclists, Mallorca comes out on top every single time.
If you’ve been to both, you’ll know what I mean. And if you haven’t yet ridden in Mallorca, maybe it’s time to find out why so many cyclists end up calling this island their second home.
Cycle with Velocamp
To experience what it feels like to train, ride, and recover like a professional in one of the most beautiful cycling destinations in the world, join us at Velocamp Mallorca. Whether you’re chasing fitness, confidence, or simply the joy of the ride, our team will make sure you experience cycling at its very best.
The mountains are ready to teach. Visit our camps to discover how you can experience it for yourself. The journey begins with a single turn of the pedals, and there is no better place in the world to start.
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