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, time to discover this beautiful town.
| Destination | France – Spain |
| Dates 2025 |
23 May – 2 June |
| Hotels | 3-4 Stars |
| Meals | All meals included |
| Arrival | Bilbao Airport (BIO) |
| Departure | Barcelona airport (BCN) |
| Non-Rider | 20% discount |
| Rental Bike | Available |
| Rental E-Bike | Available |
| Price | €4,750.00 |
Details:
DISTANCE: 935km
Daily average: 94km
CLIMBING: 21,900m
Daily average: 2,190m
MORE INFORMATION
PRICES:
TWIN room: 4,750 Euros pp
SINGLE Supplement: 950 Euros
Rental bike: 800 Euros
Rental e-bike: 850 Euros
PAYMENT TERMS:
800 Euros when making the booking. The Balance is to be paid 120 days before the trip starts.
INCLUDED:
10 nights accommodation between 3 – 4 Stars
ALL MEALS INCLUDED.
10 breakfasts.
10 lunches, picnic-style on longer days.
10 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 staff.
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 change after the COVID-19 pandemic, and incoordination, 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 to contract travel insurance as soon 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: Parador de Hondarribia.
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 Andreinia.
Leaving our hotel, we will ride through beautiful Basque landscapes until we start climbing.
The first climb of the day is the Col d’Arthaburu, one of the hardest short climbs in the Pyrenees, with some sections over 20% gradient.
The landscape here is lonely and magnificent, and the road narrow!
Once we summited and descended, we will soon join the Col de Bagargui. Here the road widens to the top, where there is a lookout and a great place to stop!
The descent of the Col de Bagargui is very steep, 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 Arettem where is our accommodation 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/3,100m.
CLIMBS: Cold d'Arthaburu-Bagargui, Col de Soudet.
HOTEL: Hotel de l'Ours.
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 Arette, we will head toward the Col de Marie Blanque, which is short but steep towards the top climb. Once we reach the top we will descend towards Laruns. Here starts the mighty Col d’Aubisque, a longer, and harder 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 Soulour 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 Saveur.
103km/3,100m.
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 heat 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 climb is a new one: Guardader d’Arres, a narrow climb and descent that will take us to Arros, end of today’s stage.
80km/2,800m.
Climbs: Col d'Azet, Col de Peyresourde, Col du Portillon, Arres de Sus.
We leave Arros and start climbing up the Coll de la Bonaigua, this 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.
130km / 2,735m.
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 has even a small Picasso museum, 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, 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, and after a stop by the lake, we will begin the approach to one of the most iconic climbs in the Girona area.
Rocacorba won’t disappoint you, it is a good climb, not too hard. After observing the great views from the top we will descend and make our way to Girona, this city that has become a cycling capital.
A good number of professional cyclists are based here, we will have time to explore Girona as we are spending two nights here.
112km / 1,945m.
Climbs: Coll de Canes, Coll de Caselles, Rocacorba.
Hotel: Hotel Carlemany Girona.
Our last day will be the easiest in this epic adventure.
We decided that after such a big ride from the Atlantic, we don’t want to have the last day when we all need to rush, this achievement deserves a more tranquilo final stage.
Leaving Girona via another popular and beautiful climb, the Mare de Deu dels Angels, we will ride towards the Mediterranean sea.
During our ride, we will go through medieval towns like Monells and Peratallada, great places to enjoy a coffee on a relaxed day.
Our destination is the small beach of Sa Tuna, here is where we will touch the Mediterranean Sea.
After reaching the Sea, we will ride to the medieval town of Pals and enjoy lunch before we travel by van back to our hotel. Afternoon free to enjoy Girona!
66km / 1,050m.
Climb: Mare de Deu dels Angels.
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.
