Stage 1: Barcelona – Barcelona. 21km. Sat 27th June

Grab your castanets, we’re heading to the home of tapas, the Sagrada Familia and creme Catalan!

The first stage is (for the Pros) a 19.7km team time trial around the City of Barcelona. We won’t race it as teams; instead we’ll enjoy the opportunity for a sight-seeing ride past the port and beaches, the Sagrada Familia and a finish at the Monjuic Olympic park complex. It’s a true “Hello Barcelona” moment on bikes and a wonderful way to meet fellow cyclists and consider what lies ahead…

Le Loop Logistics
Start: Barcelona hotel
Finish: Barcelona hotel

Stage 2: Tarragona – Barcelona. 178km / 2550m ascent. Sun 28th June

Stage 2 is a beauty: we’ll start with a transfer south west along the coast to Tarragona and we cycle back to our finish in Barcelona (note, two nights in the same hotel!).

The first half of the 176km ride is as good as flat (famous last words) with all of the atmosphere, coastal views and Catalan feel you could hope for. This will feel fast and the feedstops will come quickly – so that by early afternoon we’re already approaching the big city…

But then as we approach Barcelona, the route turns left and veers off into the hills for a few punchy climbs to test us, and culminates in three laps of the Olympic park (that’s three more little hill climbs) to finish. A truly spectacular Spanish stage!

Le Loop Logistics
Start: Transfer to Tarragona
Finish: Barcelona hotel

Stage 3: Granollers – Les Angles. 196km / 3950m. Mon 29th June

Today’s ride takes us into the lush green hinterland of Catalunya. We roll briskly out of the bustling market town of Granollers, and very quickly find ourselves in the steep, verdant hills that form Barcelona’s hinterland. Within an hour we hit our first climb of the day: a 7.6km haul up to the scenic hilltop town of Sant Feliu de Codines, and from here a winding balcony road offers panoramic views of the otherworldly rock formations of the Tenes Gorge.

After a rolling descent to the Plain of Vic, our route plunges us back into the hills, and we gain height steadily as we follow river valleys north to Ribes de Freser, a historic town famous for its mineral water. From here it’s a long, but fairly steady climb up to Col de Toses, and then we have around 20km of descent into the high-altitude Cerdanya Valley, which spans the border with France.

Soon after thinking we’ve made it to France, confusion will set in when everything looks Spanish again; it’s a brief visit to the tiny Llívia, a 13 km2 Spanish enclave which has been cut off from the rest of Spain ever since the two countries negotiated their borders in 1659. Returning once again to France, a set of sharp hairpins will take us up out of the valley, with views of Llívia’s ruined castle, and onwards to Fort-Romeu, which at 1,800m is home to France’s National Altitude Training Centre – so keep an eye out for elite athletes as we pass through.

There are two more descents, and two more climbs, before we reach the pretty resort of Les Angles.

*LITE: We’ll give you a lift to feedstop 2 in Ripoll at 90km, making the stage a more friendly 96km and 2,270m ascent
*only available to those who have signed up for the Barcelona Start Loop (Lite options are not designed for Grand or longer Loopers). Simply opt to ‘go lite’ the evening before the stage.

Le Loop Logistics
Start: Transfer to Granollers
Finish: Transfer to Carcassonne hotel