Main Information
RIDE ACROSS THE PYRENEES WITH SFIDA CYCLING
Ride across the Pyrenees from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.
Starting in the Basque Country, we will head East riding on some amazing roads.
This epic itinerary will take you to some of the most spectacular climbs on both sides of the Pyrenees. On the French side, we will take on some of the famous Tour de France cols like Aubisque, Tourmalet, and Peyresourde, to name some.
Once we get across the French border into Catalonia, we find a different side of the Pyrenees, quieter roads and great food and hospitality will accompany us to Girona.
To give you an idea of the variety of cultures that live in this mountain chain, we will ride across five different language regions!
Our last two nights will be spent in Girona, one of Europe’s cycling capitals, and time to discover this beautiful town.
| Destination | France – Spain |
| Dates 2026 |
11-21 September |
| Hotels | 3-4 Stars |
| Meals | All meals included |
| Arrival | Bilbao Airport (BIO) |
| Departure | Barcelona airport (BCN) |
| Non-Rider | 10% discount |
| Rental Bike | Available |
| Rental E-Bike | Available |
| Price | €4,450.00 |
Details:
DISTANCE: 865km
Daily average: 96km
CLIMBING: 20,750m
Daily average: 2,300m
MORE INFORMATION
PRICES:
TWIN room: 4,450 Euros pp
SINGLE Supplement: 750 Euros
Rental bike: 800 Euros
Rental e-bike: 850 Euros
Own Bike fee: 200 Euros. Given the numerous incidents with our clients bringing their bikes, most of the time with poor maintenance. These situations have become difficult to handle, since our mechanics and staff end up spending a lot of their valuable time fixing those bikes. From this year, we are charging an Own bike fee.
PAYMENT TERMS:
800 Euros when making the booking. The Balance is to be paid 120 days before the trip starts.
INCLUDED:
9 Nights’ accommodation between 3 – 4 Stars.
1 SFIDA Cycling jersey. You can order a pair of bib shorts ahead of the trip for 100 Euros.
ALL MEALS INCLUDED.
9 Breakfasts.
9 Lunches, picnic-style on longer days.
9 Dinners, including wine.
NOT INCLUDED:
International flights.
Travel insurance.
Hotel extras: mini-bar, spa, massage.
Tips for the staff.
SUPPORT:
We will have ride leaders and at least one mechanic on our trip.
Our staff/client ratio is 1:4.
Our passenger vans come fully equipped with everything necessary to give the best support during the rides.
We carry gels, energy bars, powder mix, water, fruit, riding food, tools, pumps, spare tubes and tyres to make sure our first-class support helps you through the trip.
Professional first aid kit.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
Adapting to the changes in international travel after the COVID-19 pandemic, and in coordination with most of the hotel’s terms and conditions, we are adjusting our cancellation policy accordingly as follows:
120 days before the trip starts – the return of your deposit minus any expenses that we may not be able to reimburse.
90 days before the trip starts – partial refund of the amount of the trip less the 500 Euros cancellation fee, plus any amount that we can’t recover from Hotels, and other costs that we may have already incurred in the trip preparation.
No amount will be refunded less than 60 days before the trip starts. We will, however, try to credit as much as possible towards a future trip. This depends on the amount that we can get back from the hotels and other costs that we have already incurred in the trip preparation.
We highly recommend contracting travel insurance as soon as you pay the deposit and buy your international flights.
Make sure your travel insurance covers:
- Refund of the amounts paid in case you need to cancel for any reason.
- Covers the cost of possible damages to your rental bike. Check our T&C for this.
For these reasons, we won’t be holding any spots until the full deposit has been paid.
Hotels are now more strict with how many rooms they are willing to have on hold for groups, so until deposit payments are made, we won’t be able to confirm your spot.
Itinerary
After meeting the SFIDA Cycling team at the Bilbao Airport, we will travel to Hondarribia.
Once in Hondarribia, we will check in, have lunch and do a trip presentation.
In the afternoon, we will prepare the bikes and go for a ride.
Today we plan to ride the nearby Alto de Jaizkibel, a classic Basque climb, from both sides.
33km/960m.
Climbs: Alto Jaizkibel from Hondarribia and Pasaia.
Hotel: Hotel Jaizkibel
Leaving the Atlantic coast today, we will start heading East in our long ride to the Mediterranean Sea.
Today's route involves five climbs and multiple short hills into the French Basque Country. This is an amazing ride!
109km/2,640m.
Climbs: Collado Arichulegui, Alto de Agina, Collado de Lizarrieta, Puerto de Otxondo, Puerto de Izpegui.
Hotel: Hotel Pyrenees
Leaving our hotel, we will ride through beautiful Basque landscapes until we start climbing.
The first climb today is the Col de Bagargui, a long climb for Basque standards.
The descent of the Col de Bagargui is very steep at some points, so caution is required.
Afterwards, we will continue our ride towards the Col de Soudet, another big climb.
From the top of the Soudet, we will descend towards Cette Eygun, where our accommodation is today. This part of the ride is fantastic through some narrow Pyrenean roads.
Today’s ride is a tough one; pacing will be very important.
107km/3,000m.
CLIMBS: Col de Bagargui, Col de Soudet.
HOTEL: Chateau d'Arance.
Today, we are entering Tour de France territory, with famous Pyrenees climbs, integral to the history of this race.
We will climb one after the other for the next three days. It will feel like the Queen stage is never-ending for us.
After leaving our hotel, we will head toward the Col de Marie Blanque, which is short but steep towards the top. Once we reach the top, we will descend towards Laruns.
Here starts the mighty Col d’Aubisque, a first-category TDF climb.
At the summit of the Aubisque is the right time for a food stop. Afterwards, we will continue our ride.
Next is the Cirque du Solour is a unique natural landscape and a cliff road! Super scenic, stop and take pictures, but be careful with the cliffs!
To end our climbing today, we will climb the Col des Borderes, a short climb but a very spectacular road too, especially on the descent.
We will sleep in Luz Saint Sauveur.
118km/2,900m.
CLIMBS: Col de Marie-Blanque, Col'Aubisque, col du Soulour, Col des Borderes.
HOTEL: Hotel Montaigu
Col du Tourmalet is, without any doubt, the most mythic climb of the Pyrenees and one of the most famous in cycling.
The Tour de France passed over the summit for the first time in 1910, and the legend began. Today we will climb from Luz Saint Saveur, which for me is much nicer than the side we will descend.
To finish our epic ride, we will climb the Hourquette d’Ancizan, this climb is always a surprise because of its beauty too, this is one of the hidden gems of the Pyrenees.
We end our day in Saint-Lary-Soulan.
70km / 2,250m.
Climbs: Col du Tourmalet, Hourquette d'Ancizan.
HOTEL: Mercure Sensoria
Saint Lary Soulan is in the heart of the Pyrenees, surrounded by mountains and a good number of amazing climbs.
We will leave via Col d’Azet, a beautiful climb to start the day. Then we will descend via Val Louron and head towards the second climb: Col de Peyresourde.
After savouring the famous crepes at the top of the Peyresourde, we will descend to Bagneres de Luchon and start the climb to the Col du Portillon, which marks the border between France and Catalonia.
Our final destination is Arties, in the Val d'Aran region.
84km/2,800m.
Climbs: Col d'Azet, Col de Peyresourde, Col du Portillon.
HOTEL: Parador Arties
We leave Arties and start climbing up the Coll de la Bonaigua, which is a long climb through green valleys at the start and high mountain landscapes closer to the top.
After we all reach the top, we start descending to Sort, another tourist town in the Pyrenees. This is the start of the Coll del Canto.
We are climbing the Coll del Canto from its shorter side, then after the descent, we will ride on the main road that goes to La Seu d’Urgell, our destination today.
118km / 2,400m.
Climbs: Port de la Bonaigua, Port de Canto.
HOTEL: Parador de la Seu d’Urgell
From La Seu d’Urgell, we ride through the Cadi Massif, via some lonely and scenic roads that will take us deep into this area of Catalonia.
A few little-known climbs like Coll de la Trava, or Coll de la Josa, will make you understand how great it is to ride on this quiet corner of the Pyrenees.
Small towns like Gosol or Saldes make for great stops. Gosol even has a small Picasso museum, where the painter spent some time in this part of the Pyrenees in 1906.
We are starting to leave the high Pyrenees. Our arrival at Ripoll will also mark a change in the landscape, as we are getting closer to the Mediterranean Sea.
116km / 2,565m.
Climbs: Coll de la Trava, Coll de la Josa, Coll de Merolla.
HOTEL: La Trobada Hotel Boutique.
From Ripoll, we start climbing the Coll de Canes, which will take us to Olot.
Olot is a town in the middle of an old volcanic area called La Garrotxa.
From Olot, we will follow the scenic road to Banyoles Lake.
After a stop in Banyoles, we will continue our ride and end up in Empuries, by the Mediterranean Sea and enjoy having accomplished one of the most epic cycling challenges.
107km / 1,400m.
Climbs: Coll de Canes, Coll de Caselles.
Hotel: Hotel Carlemany Girona.
After breakfast, transfer by van to Barcelona Airport.
We expect to get there by 11:00, so plan your flights accordingly.
