Denia (Alicante, Spain)
Denia (Alicante, Spain)
Southern Spain isn’t just popular with Brits heading abroad in the summer. It’s also one of the top destinations for pro teams embarking on training camps thanks to great weather conditions and varied roads.
Denia, in Alicante, has hosted BMC Racing for several years while French team Ag2r-La Mondiale have also been there during this off-season.
And BMC Racing directeur sportif Max Sciandri, the former British Olympic bronze medallist, says there are several benefits to riding in Denia.
“There are two or three reasons we go there,” he said. “One is the weather. The weather is pretty good and within a one or two hour flight you can get between 15 and 20 degrees in December and January.
“The roads are great, there’s a lot of big infrastructure in terms of roads but not a lot of traffic. And the third thing is that the flights are good. There are lots of flights into Valencia or Alicante so it’s pretty easy in-and-out access for our riders.
“There aren’t many big climbs, but at the same time we don’t really ride on the flat roads either as there can be traffic on the coast. Instead we stick to the quieter, undulating terrain inland.
“We could perhaps do with a couple more 20-25-minute climbs just to diversify the training a little bit because the camp can get a little long.”
Who trains there? BMC Racing, Ag2r-La Mondiale