Girona wants its cycling industry to speak in Catalan instead of English

The Girona city council wants to encourage the use of the Catalan language in the cycling sector, where English is the main language spoken by the huge international public that visits the city.

The Economic Promotion Area and the Catalan Language council have been working for month with the cycling-tourism operators in the area to create synergies in different areas.

Now, the council wants to create a meeting space so that those from abroad working in the sector in the city work on measures to preserve the use of Catalan in their business.

Bike tourism has become a significant economic asset in Girona, and the council wants to work to strengthen the presence of Catalan in this area.

Next week, the vice-mayor of Girona, Gemma Geis, and the councilor for Llengua Catalana, Núria Riquelme, will meet with several cycling establishments in the city to invite them to the new meeting space to promote the Catalan language. 

Restaurants, hotels, specialized agencies, tourist homes and shops, among others, will participate in the meeting.

Between all of them, they will aim to find a way to make visitors more aware of the Catalan language when visiting, and preserve its use as much as possible.

"Cycling Mecca" 

In recent years, Girona has seen a huge influx of people coming from all over the world to live in Girona because of the possibilities it offers for cycling. 

In addition to professional cyclists living in Girona, many have also come to set up businesses, from tour operators to cycle cafés. 

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. 

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.