The Mallorca 312 cycle sportive is an annual event that starts in the north-east of the island at Playa de Muro near to Alcudia. The route goes anti-clockwise around the circumference of the island passing through the beautiful Tramuntana mountains to Andratx then onto Palma, Colonia Sant Jordi, Porto Cristo, Arta and finally back to Playa de Muro, a total of 312 km. Or at least this is what we expected the route to be when me and my friend Brian entered the event and booked flights and hotels six months prior to the event. In April however, all the entrants got a surprise email outlining a big change to the route, it would now be confined to the mountainous northern part of the island and there would now also be a choice of three routes, 167km, 232km and 312km. Also the event would now take place on roads closed to other traffic. This was to be the 7th edition of the event, it was first held back in 2010 when a total of 199 riders set off round the island, this years entry was 4400 (with several hundred more on a waiting list). In a way the event has become a victim of its own success, with the organisers coming under pressure from the Police and authorities to make it easier to control and safer for the riders involved, hence the unexpected late changes to the route. We flew in 5 days prior to the event, which was enough time to get some good rides in and explore the island without exhausting ourselves before the big day.

Mon 25th April  An early flight into Palma airport gave us lots of time after the transfer to our hotel in Port d’Alcudia. Our hire bikes were ready and waiting, we both opted for a Canondale Synapse, I chose the version with disc brakes and electronic Di2 gears and Brian opted for one with standard mechanical shifters and brakes. After setting the bikes up we headed out for the traditional first day out ride, to Cap de Formentor, ” the lighthouse ride” a very scenic road along a peninsula with stunning sea views and one of the best rides on the island. 60km ride.

Tues 26th April  A big day out. We pre-booked places on the Mallorca Cycle Shuttle that leaves from Port de Pollenca and takes cyclists and their bikes to either Soller or in our case Andratx, leaving them free to cycle back to our hotel along the beautiful Ma-10 road through the mountains and along the coast line back to Pollenca. We needed an early start to grab some breakfast and cycle the 8km or so to meet the bus at 7.30am and we were treated to a beautiful sunrise as we rode along Pollenca Bay road. The shuttle bus takes about 90 minutes, along the motorway towards Palma and through the busy early morning rush hour traffic before dropping us all off in a quiet back street in Andratx, right next to the Ma-10. The weather was good all day and we got to see this beautiful route at its best, the climbs are never that steep but are long at times and care is needed on the fast twisty descents. We made a small detour to visit the beautiful bay of Port de Soller, had a coffee and mentally prepared ourselves for what was coming next…. The 13.9km climb up to the Monnaber tunnel on Puig Major, the longest climb on the island. From this high point Port de Pollenca is about 40km away and most of it is downhill with only a couple of shortish climbs to slow you down, at the Port we called into Tollo’s bar and restaurant for a beer and had a look at Wiggo’s world time trial and Tour de France race bikes which hang from the ceiling. We finally got back to our hotel at 7.00pm tired but happy. 142 km ride.

Wed 27th April  After a short lie in to recover from yesterday’s hilly ride we had a look at the map and decided to do the last 80km section of the Mallorca 312 route from Playa de Muro that makes a loop to Arta before heading back to the finish at Playa de Muro. We stopped off in Arta for some lunch in one of the restaurants in the pleasant town square, it took us a while to locate the square through all the narrow alley ways and one way systems but it was with the effort. On the way back we checked out the beautiful beaches and sea front at Can Picafort.

Thurs 28th April  We awoke to the sound of steady rain and a chill in the air, so after a relaxed breakfast we decided to check the hotel gym out for an hour and done some gentle weights and rowing, followed by a few lengths in the outside swimming pool, an experience that can be best summed up as bracing. After an early lunch the weather was much improved and we headed out for a ride along the Ma-3433 to Sa Pobla, Muro and from Santa Margalida picked up the Ma-3400 to join the Arta road that headed back to Alcudia, about 50km or so. The expo for the Mallorca 312 event was already up and running at Playa de Muro and we called in hoping to pickup our race pack and event race shirt, but there were big queues for everything so we went back to the hotel instead. Later on that night we got the bus back to the expo and got our packs no problem, even the race shirts fitted. We celebrated with an “Indurain” burger (recommended) at the Bike Point Cafe next door.

Fri 29th April  The day before our event so no heroics on the bike today, instead we had a very relaxed ride out in the warm spring sunshine. We headed along the Ma-3433 to Sa Pobla again but this time followed the signs to Buger along lovely quiet lanes and onto Campanet. Here we turned right and headed down to the very old and beautiful church of Sant Miguel and made a short detour to have a look inside and chat with a woman who was a guide or guardian of the church. Back on the bike we headed down the quiet pot-holed country lane and were amazed by the hundreds of cyclists constantly coming the other way, probably heading for the Coll de sa Batalla and beyond. We turned left along the much busier Ma-2200 and followed this all the way to Port de Pollenca where we found a nice quiet bay front restaurant and filled ourselves with pasta, after this feast we crossed over the road on to the beach and relaxed on the sand for an hour, before completing our ride along the bay road back to our hotel in Port d’Alcudia. 60km ride approx.

Sat 30th April   Mallorca 312 day!   The alarm went off at 5.00am, giving us plenty of time for a good breakfast as it was going to be a long day. All the weather forecasts seemed to vary in details but one thing was certain there would be rain and sure enough as we cycled the 20 minutes or so to the start outside the Iberostar Hotel in Playa de Muro we felt the first drops, cyclists were appearing from everywhere and hundreds were already lined up at the start a good 45 mins before the official start at 7.00 am. The rain got heavier as we waited and there was an air of excitement and anticipation as we chatted and watched the clock tick down. It was good to get moving and the wide closed roads at the start allowed people to quickly find their own space and tempo. The first obstacle of the day was the Coll de Femenia, then up to the aqueduct and the tunnel that leads to Gorg Blau, the blue lake, where the first watering station was located, more climbing leads to the Monnaber tunnel and the start of almost 14km of fast downhill road. In the dry and especially with closed roads, this would be a blast, but today the roads were very wet and at times the mist was quite thick. I found this to be a nervous descent and I saw one guy getting tended too at the side of the road with his head covered in blood. It was a relief to finally hit the outskirts of Soller and begin the climb up to the Coll de ca’n Bleda, however just over the top of this climb as we started to go down again I came off. There were three of us in a line, the first guy went down braking on a slight bend, the second guy squeezed his brakes to avoid him and he came off too and as soon as I braked I was off too, the road was really greasy in the wet. Physically I was ok, just cuts and bruises down my left hand side, (plus a hole in my new bib-shorts!) but the impact on the bike was on the left hand brake hood and I soon found out that I was unable to shift from the small chain ring to the large one (the hire bike had Di2 gearing – so I guess a wire or contact had come loose in the crash). I was gutted at the time and thought that this would really slow me down but in reality the route was so hilly it didn’t have such a big impact and it was only at the end when the roads flattened out a little that I felt I was being held back by the lack of faster gears. The first feed station was after 94km at Nova Valldemossa but when I got there I was told they had ran out of food…..Just drinks and oranges left! After a couple of minutes chomping on orange segments, Brian pulled in and he told me he had also come off his bike in a similar incident to mine. He was going downhill following someone, they braked and slid off and as soon as Bri touched his brakes he came off too. Fortunately he was ok but now we both had matching holes in our shorts. Conditions however were improving rapidly and the roads were drying out quickly and the rain jackets and arm warmers were stashed away for the rest of the day and we could enjoy fully the fantastic sea views on this elevated roller-coaster of a road. We dropped down to Andratx and started heading back to the finish direction over a series of long hill climbs, never that steep but a lot of them were several kilometres long. The next feed station was after 143km at Galilea and thankfully there was plenty of food this time and we got our fill here. The last long climb was over the Coll des Grau and after this the terrain got noticeable easier and faster and we managed to tag onto the end of a peloton and the kilometres were starting to go by much quicker but just as we were closing in at the feedstation at Biniamar at about 190km, Brian had a major problem with his gears, he was the unable to shift the chain up the cassette and was stuck in the smallest sprocket and with tired legs was reduced to walking up anything remotely steep. With the cut-off time of 5.30pm getting nearer I pressed on hoping to be able to do the full 312km and i teamed up with a couple of others hoping to do the same, but time was against us and we rolled into the Playa de Muro finish line with the way to Arta blocked off, I had missed the cut-off. Initially I was disappointed, I had wanted to do the full 312km but that feeling didn’t last long, it had been a long eventful day which I had greatly enjoyed. I grabbed a free beer and tried phoning Brian to see how he was getting on but got no answer but then a few minutes later I saw him near the finish line, he had battled on gamely with his now single-speed bike and finished the 232km route in good style. As we stood chatting near the finish line a camera crew approached us, the interviewer asked Brian to sum up the event in one word and after a couple of seconds thought and with a flourish he said “Magnifico!” And that sort of perfectly summed up not just our day or even our week but the also the preceding 6 months, because the Mallorca 312 had been our motivation to get out on the bike early on a Sunday morning, sometimes in not so good weather, to get some miles in the legs and prepare properly for this demanding event, it’s good to have something to train for…… We may just have to come back next year and complete it…. The organisers even put Brian on the official you tube video!