Explore

Destinations, athlete stories, and field reports from every corner of the globe.

Loading map…

Browse by Sport

Showing: road-cycling (13 posts)
cyclingfranceloire

Cycling the Loire Roannais: The TTT Circuit and the Roads Beyond Perreux

The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Stage 3 TTT runs a 28.4km circuit through the Loire Roannais — a stretch of rolling farmland and forested foothills between Roanne and Charlieu that rarely appears on any race route. A practical cycling guide to the area, from the TTT circuit itself to the Pilat Massif climbs one valley east.

By ZealZag Team
soccerfootballroad-cycling

Why Footballers Get Faster on a Bike: A Road Cycling Off-Season Guide for Soccer Players

Top clubs use cycling for active recovery between matches because it builds aerobic base without joint load. A road cycling off-season guide for soccer players — the zones to train, the volumes to target, and the cycling destinations that work for a focused two-week trip.

By ZealZag Team
cyclingfranceisere

Cycling the Matheysine Plateau: Empty Roads, Big Climbs, and the Isère's Quietest Cycling Country

The Matheysine plateau and the Trièves valley south of Grenoble carry some of the most empty, climbing-rich roads in the French Alps. The Col du Festre, the Col du Noyer, and the lakes of Laffrey are a 250-kilometre weekend within ninety minutes of a major airport.

By ZealZag Team
cyclingfrancegrenoble

Cycling Grenoble: Three Massifs, One City, and the Roads the Tour Auvergne Uses Every June

Grenoble sits at the bottom of the Vercors, the Chartreuse, and the Belledonne — three mountain massifs within 20 minutes of the city centre. This week it's the basecamp for the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. For cyclists, it is the best-positioned Alpine training base in France. A practical guide to where to ride, when to go, and how to get there.

By ZealZag Team
journalcyclingroad-cycling

Training for High-Mountain Cycling: What a Dolomites Granfondo Actually Demands

A Dolomites granfondo asks for 4,000+ metres of climbing over 130–170 km. Most riders who finish strong aren't better cyclists than those who blow up — they trained specifically for sustained high-gradient climbing and managed the race very differently. Here is what that preparation actually involves.

By ZealZag Team
cyclingitalylake-garda

Cycling Lake Garda: The Alpine Lake That Trains Champions

Lake Garda sits 15 kilometres from Ala, the starting town for today's Giro Donne sprint stage — a practical guide to the lake that WorldTour teams use as a winter base, built around the climbs, the loops, and the thermal winds that make the northern shore one of Europe's best cycling destinations.

By ZealZag Team
Chapman's Peak Drive: The Cape Peninsula Loop Every Visiting Cyclist Wants to Ride
journalcyclingroad-cycling

Chapman's Peak Drive: The Cape Peninsula Loop Every Visiting Cyclist Wants to Ride

Chapman's Peak Drive is a nine-kilometre cliff road carved between Hout Bay and Noordhoek above the Atlantic. Linked with Cape Point and Boyes Drive, it forms the standard Cape Town cycling pilgrimage — a 100-kilometre loop that defines a visit to the city.

By ZealZag Team
Cape Town Cycle Tour: Inside the World's Biggest Individually-Timed Bike Race
journalcyclingroad-cycling

Cape Town Cycle Tour: Inside the World's Biggest Individually-Timed Bike Race

The Cape Town Cycle Tour is the largest individually-timed mass-participation cycling event on the planet — roughly 35,000 riders, 109 kilometres around the Cape Peninsula every March. Here is what makes it the spiritual centre of South African cycling.

By ZealZag Team
Stellenbosch: Why European Pros Spend Their Winter in South Africa's Wine Country
journalcyclingroad-cycling

Stellenbosch: Why European Pros Spend Their Winter in South Africa's Wine Country

Stellenbosch sits in the Cape Winelands an hour east of Cape Town. From December through February, European pro teams use it as their southern hemisphere training base. The reason is the same combination of geography, climate, and infrastructure that built Girona.

By ZealZag Team
Why World Tour Pros Live in Girona: The Infrastructure Behind the Cycling Capital
journalcyclingroad-cycling

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
journalcyclingroad-cycling

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
journalcyclingroad-cycling

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 Team
journalcyclingroad-cycling

After the Classics: Europe's Summer Road Cycling Calendar and What Each Race Decides

Spring is done — Roubaix, Liège, the Ardennes monuments. The Giro runs into June. Then comes the part of the calendar that actually determines how a season is remembered: five months of stage racing and one-day racing from Dauphiné to Il Lombardia.

By ZealZag Team