"Cycling Mecca": What makes Girona so good for bike riding? 

Over the past few years, the northern Catalan city of Girona has become one of the best places in the world for cycling. Between professional athletes moving to set up new lives in the city, to amateur enthusiasts visiting on two wheels, Girona has become a world capital for the sport.

In 2018, some 40,000 cyclists visited the city, with an estimated economic impact of €89 million according to a study from the University of Girona, and the cyclo-tourism industry has continued to grow from strength to strength since the pandemic. 

The same study said that each visitor spent ten days on average in the Girona region and spent €162.09 euros a day. 

So why is Girona so good for cycling?

According to former professional mountain biker Dave Walsh, the city is "the perfect storm" for cycling. "It's got good roads, good climate, good range of terrains, and different places to cycle which is really good for training." 

Walsh has lived for over 20 years in Catalonia and now runs Pro Cycling Outlet, a store selling specialized professional cycling equipment sourced from teams and brands. 

Christian Meier, another Girona resident, spent over a decade with professional UCI teams, and he says it's the variety of road available to cyclists that makes the region so special for the sport. 

"You can ride on flat roads, you can ride to the coast which is obviously spectacular, the coastal road along the Med is super beautiful," Meier says. Additionally, "we've got medium mountains quite close, mountains that reach above 1,000 meters in altitude are very close by, and then obviously the Pyrenees are not far away so you can get into longer climbs there. I think it's that variety that is really special."

"If you like cycling you would know that Girona is a cycling Mecca," says Lee Comerford, co-founder of bike tour company Eat Sleep Cycle. His group brings visitors looking for active holidays on guided tours, providing the equipment, accommodation, and local guides. 

For Comerford, Girona has so much to offer anybody looking for this type of trip, from "one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world" in the Costa Brava, to the imperious Pyrenees mountains. In between there's also a volcanic region which is "nice and hilly," the Les Serres forested area, and plenty of old castles and medieval villages to build routes around. 

Hub for professionals

On any given day walking through the city and outskirts of Girona, you're bound to bump into any number of professional cyclists training or out for a leisurely pedal. 

Dave Walsh, well interrconnected in the cycling community in the northern Catalan city, estimates that there are 300-400 professionals in top-level road cycling, "and maybe there's 100-150 in Girona, or have been in Girona: so it's a lot." 

Latifa Al-Yassin and Noura Al-Ameeri are two members of the Kuwaiti women's national team that Catalan News spoke with in Girona in June. They explained that they were in Catalonia for a summer camp in preparation for the Arab Games, held in Algeria in July 2023. "We usually come here to train for our championships and races," Latifa said. 

Weather, the cycling atmosphere, the number of pro cyclists based there, the amazing routes on offer were just some of the reasons they made Girona their base. 

But Girona provides so much more for cyclists than just good terrain and picturesque landscapes. "Once you get outside of Girona there's little traffic, and here the cars are very, very respectful of cyclists," Christian Meier says, adding that this is an important factor for people practicing this sport to consider. "For training and for people who are riding that makes a big difference because it feels quite safe to ride your bike in Girona and Catalonia." 

Dave Walsh also points out the budding community that has been built in the city is another reason that makes it so good for cyclists. "There are lots and lots of cyclists here because there are lots and lots of cyclists here," he says. 

As with all the individual pros basing themselves in the city, "consequentially you get a lot of staff, so there's a lot of physios, soigneurs, and three or four teams based here now. So that perpetuates. You can train together and hang out together, and that community is super important." 

Festivals, events, tourism 

The cycling industry has grown so much in recent years that now numerous festivals and events are held in the city each year. 

There's of course the Volta a Catalunya, Catalonia's premiere racing tour which inevitably features Girona strongly, but there are plenty of other events, like Gran Fondo, Sea Otter Europe, and Gerundona, promoting the sport and bringing new aspects of the sport to the city where a larger and larger audience is to be found each year.  

And of course, anybody coming to Girona for cycling is also sure to fall in love with the city itself.

"Girona as a city to visit is also very beautiful," Christian Meier points out. "You have the cultural side of good restaurants, an antique town, you have the cathedral, there's a lot to feel and see in Girona without necessarily having the overwhelming feeling of Barcelona." 

'Cycle café' culture

Meier, along with his wife Amber, has opened two different 'cycle cafés' in Girona, La Fabrica and Espresso Mafia, as refueling with a good cup of coffee and a slice of cake is an important aspect of the cycling culture. The 'cycle cafés' are not only aesthetically decorated in bike themes, but they also offer parking spaces and bike locks, water filling stations for those on routes, and a community bowl of free CO2 cartridges in case of flat tires. 

"Cycling and coffee go very well together," Amber Meier says. "You're going to go for a ride, but the coffee aspect is what puts everything all together. It's how you meet or how you end, it brings the experience all together."

She explains that ex-pats in Girona enjoyed speciality coffee shops back home, but their café was one of the first to offer it in the Catalan city. Retired from his cycling career, Christian now roasts the coffee served in La Fabrica and Espresso Mafia himself. 

In fact, Christian is not the only former pro to open a café in Girona, as they're joined by Rory Sutherland's Federal, Robert Gesink's Hors Catégorie, and Jan Frodeno's 'La Comuna,' while Eat Sleep Cycle also have their own café open beside their other stores.