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Cycling Barcelona: Montjuïc, the Seafront Stage 1 Route, and the Sitges Coast
A practical guide to riding the roads at the centre of the Tour de France's Grand Départ — Montjuïc's switchbacks, the seafront TTT course, and the 40-kilometre coastal run to Sitges that Stage 2 traces along the Costa Daurada.
By ZealZag TeamHow to Watch the Tour de France 2026 in Person: Barcelona to Alpe d'Huez
A practical guide for destination-athletes joining the Tour de France roadside — the stages worth travelling for, where to stand on Alpe d'Huez and in the Pyrenees, how to time a trip around the race's three-week geography, and what the experience actually delivers.
By ZealZag TeamGaudí's Avenue Belongs to the Tour: 80,000 Fill Barcelona for the Team Presentation
With 80,000 spectators lining Avinguda de Gaudí between the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site and the Sagrada Família, and Castellers building human towers while Sílvia Pérez Cruz sang, Barcelona staged the most architecturally striking team presentation in Tour de France history — two days before the race begins.
By ZealZag TeamVal d'Aran: Trail Running the Pyrenees' Atlantic Outlier
The Val d'Aran drains north toward France, speaks Occitan, and holds some of the most remote high-mountain terrain in the Pyrenees — a UTMB World Series European Major in a valley that most trail runners only hear about when the race calendar lands in their inbox.
By ZealZag TeamGirona for Cyclists: Why the Roads Around a Medieval Catalan City Became Europe's Benchmark Training Base
Girona, 100 kilometres northeast of Barcelona and 40 kilometres from the Costa Brava coast, has become the unofficial capital of professional European road cycling. The roads explain why — varied enough to build fitness across every energy system, accessible enough to ride without a car, and concentrated enough to keep coming back to the same climbs with the same benchmarks.
By ZealZag TeamCycling Barcelona: Montjuïc, the Tour de France TTT Route, and Where to Ride Beyond the City
A practical guide to cycling the 2026 Tour de France Stage 1 TTT route through Barcelona and the Montjuïc circuit — plus where to ride in the days around the Grand Départ when the streets themselves become the stage.
By ZealZag TeamThe Tour de France Has Arrived in Barcelona: 23 Teams, Four Days, One Starting Gun
Four days before the Tour de France opens with its first team time trial since 1971, Barcelona is mid-preparation — team buses on the streets, the Montjuïc circuit under reconnaissance, and a GC field where the defending champion and the reigning Giro winner both need to be watched from the first pedal stroke.
By ZealZag TeamCycling Catalonia: The Coast, the Pyrenees, and the Riding Around the 2026 Tour de France Grand Départ
Catalonia hosts the 2026 Tour de France Grand Départ on July 4 — the first time the race has opened on Catalan soil. A guide to the cycling terrain the opening three stages will cross, the Girona pro-cyclist hub that anchors the broader Catalan cycling scene, and where to ride if you're visiting the region across the Tour window.
By ZealZag TeamThree Weeks to Barcelona: Tour de France 2026 Sets a Route Built for Climbers
The 2026 Tour de France rolls out from Barcelona on July 4 for the first Grand Départ on Catalan soil in race history — a 3,333-kilometre route across 23 days with 54,450 metres of elevation, 8 mountain stages, 5 mountain finishes, and Alpe d'Huez on two consecutive days. The opening team time trial is the first since 1971.
By ZealZag TeamGirona, Catalonia: Why Professional Cycling's Favourite Training Hub Works for Every Visiting Athlete
Girona is a medieval Catalan city 100 kilometres from Barcelona where dozens of professional WorldTour cyclists have based themselves for over two decades. The infrastructure built around that community — roads, climbs, service, cafés — is now available to any visiting athlete. Here is how it actually works.
By ZealZag Team
Why World Tour Pros Live in Girona: The Infrastructure Behind the Cycling Capital
Girona has somewhere between 100 and 200 professional cyclists living in or around it during the season. EF Education–EasyPost, Lidl–Trek, Israel–Premier Tech and others all have substantial staff and rider presence. The reason is not the climate — it is the infrastructure built around a decade of pro residency.
By ZealZag Team
The Costa Brava Corniche: Sant Feliu to Tossa to Lloret on Two Wheels
The 30-kilometre stretch of two-lane corniche from Sant Feliu de Guíxols through Tossa de Mar to Lloret de Mar is one of the most photographed sections of road in Spain — and one of the most rewarding to ride. Here's what the route asks of you, and when to be on it.
By ZealZag Team
Rocacorba: The 12.8 km Climb Every Pro in Girona Knows by Heart
Rocacorba is the climb that turned Girona into a measuring stick. 12.8 kilometres, an average of 7.4%, ramps over 15%, and a paved goat track that ends at a radio mast above Lake Banyoles. Here's what makes the most-ticked climb in southern Europe worth the suffering.
By ZealZag TeamSiurana: Catalonia's Limestone Cathedral and the Three-Hour Drive From Madrid
Siurana sits above the Prades Mountains in Tarragona — one of the most concentrated collections of hard sport climbing routes in Europe, with routes from 6a to 9b+ on overhanging limestone, three hours from Madrid and twenty minutes from the coast. A guide for the competition climber who wants to stay in Spain.
By ZealZag Team