Why is Girona the new ‘hub’ of world cycling?

Fifty thousand visitors attended the cycling festival Sea Otter Europe in Girona. Lance Armstrong he lived there and planted the seed. Since then, a big cycling tourism business has grown into an industry that includes Bed & Bike hotels, themed restaurants, and technical clothing. Tourist agencies have moved stays and routes.

The connection between the American, who lost his seven Tour de France due to doping, and that festival, which dismissed the sixth edition with more than five million euros of direct returns, is Girona. The city where cyclists travel from all over the planet: it has attracted the best, from Armstrong himself to Chris Froome.

armstrong He arrived in 2001, from Nice, and 21 years later, the director of Sea Otter Europe, Albert Balcells, argued that he “put Girona on the map”. “Everyone wants to come here to practice cycling and this is true about Armstrong, but there is also an atmosphere that is already there. Today, the city is one of the international centers of this sport,” he celebrated.

Balcells saw that Girona is “a destination that is growingfashionable and tends to marry the sports side of an industrial fair”. And this last Sea Otter Europe brought together 350 brands and 20% of visitors came from abroad, with more than fifty nationalities represented.

Global business has reached the point of having a factory like Megamo. The company limited itself to branding products with its logo, but now it proudly stamps the Girona name on each of its bikes.

“Armstrong helped a lot”, admitted one of those responsible, Oriol Gil. He points to gravel – road models with studded tires – as a trend outside the cities, since in the city the current bet is electric bicycles.

For this reason, a company specialized in another sector such as Youin, based in the province of Barcelona,​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ has approached Girona this September with the ambition to make its offer known. Its executive director, Josep Maria Albert, points to the importance of the Armstrong figure, but also stresses that Girona has “an atmosphere that attracts cycling”.

Albert explained that the electric bike is linked to the field of sustainability and green energy and hotels often offer rental of this type of vehicle to their clients.

Hotels and restaurants for cyclists

Some of these hotels are scattered throughout the province, with well-known cycling tourism areas such as the Pyrenees or Costa Brava, with chains such as Guitart in Lloret de Mar.

Some are even more: hotels in Ciutat de Girona, CMC and Carlemany already offer bicycle stations and breakfasts adapted to the cycling experience. The first has a sports laundry service and the Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board provides a seal for special accommodation (bed and bicycle).

the triathlete Jan Frodeno, world champion, is the face of La Comuna apartments. And there are already more than ten agencies specializing in the preparation of stays and excursions for cyclists, with Eat Sleep Cycle as the standard-bearer: it has just opened a new headquarters due to the increase in its business volume.

There are dozens of bars and restaurants specializing in the world of cycling, such as La Fábrica, owned by Canadians Christian (former professional cyclist) and Amber Meier, or Federal Cafè, owned by former Australian runner Rory Sutherland. And stores, as well as clothing companies like Chapter Tree, owned by ex-professional David Millar, another adopted son.

The university studies the phenomenon

The cycling boom in Girona has reached such a dimension that its university has decided to investigate it. A report was prepared explaining this success by its geography (between the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyrenees), its climate, which is favorable most of the year, its connection (with an airport and a high-speed station of the train), its quality of life and its anonymity.

In the same way, Sergi Guellpresident of the Massi-Tactic UCI Women’s Team, a team based in Torroella de Montgrí (Girona) of the highest women’s category in the world, confirms that Girona “is an ideal place for cyclists”.

Because it values ​​”good roads and beautiful places” and is a “nice, small, welcoming city, easy for cyclists. Besides, it eats very well and cheaply for people from the United States or northern Europe.” Güell assures that “it is a fashion started by Armstrong” and “it is a ball that grows”.

The team Israel Premier-Tech has a number of cyclists in Girona and has made several pre-season stays in its province, attracted by its beautiful roads and its “variable terrain, low traffic and its comfortable climate”.

Zak Dempster, former Australian cyclist and now one of the directors of Froome’s squad, highlights another characteristic of Girona: “the sense of community”. “Having a support network is what most international cyclists miss in their early years as professionals.”

“Girona provides a home for cyclists who are away from home at a difficult stage in their professional lives. I think the big draw is the sense of community with other young cyclists going through similar that thing in their lives,” said Dempster .. He arrived in Girona in 2011 as a professional and lives in Olot, where he met his wife and became a father.

One of the great names of the current platoon has made Girona its home Robert Gesinkthat in a video by Team Jumbo-Visma emphasized that “Girona is perfect for cyclists.”

In the video, titled ‘The mecca of cyclists’, Gesink walks the walls of Girona and says: “If you live here it’s not that difficult to go out to train, because there are many different types. You can go to the mountain or on the beach. You will never get bored here.”