Mountain biking with views of palm groves and the blue ocean. Great trails in fabulous scenery. On Gran Canaria active bikers can start the season right now. A highlight is the Bike Festival 2013 with the Marathon Open MTB.
Text Henning Heilmann Photos Erwin Haiden
Gran Canaria has become a popular season opener for mountain bikers. The mountain bike marathon as part of the Bike Festival can be combined with a spring training camp and offers a great opportunity to vacation with the whole family on the popular sunny island. Technically demanding trails between bizarre rocks and spectacular views over the island and the vast sea: more and more bikers are discovering Gran Canaria as a spring destination to start the marathon season. At the four-day Bike Festival Gran Canaria on the sunny Canary Islands, which takes place in April for the ninth time, hundreds of mountain bikers and many professionals from all over the world participate. The host team of Petra Wonisch looks after the international professionals in the Bike Hotel San Augustin. About 20 nations are present, of course also riders from Switzerland. Also some hobby bikers are present. Some of them, having arrived from the snow in the summer, have beads of sweat running down their foreheads for the first time.
Sporty bikers can really get into the swing of things on their bikes on each of the four days of the festival, even while they're still looking for Easter eggs in the snow at home. Already day one has it in itself. The popular route up the Adlerpass is only 38 kilometers, but bikers can expect a crisp climb. More than 600 meters of altitude and a maximum gradient of 47 percent have to be overcome. The reward is a fantastic panorama.
From Coast to Coast" is the motto on day two on the route from Santa Brigida to Maspalomas (bus transfer to St. Brigida). The route covers 90 kilometers across the varied miniature continent, passing many of the island's highlights such as the Pico de las Nieves (1,949 m above sea level), which is considered by many cyclists to be the most difficult mountain pass in Europe....
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