Benicassim (Spain)
Benicassim (Spain)
Lotto-Soudal are one of several teams to train on Mallorca but also head to the rolling hills of Benicassim, north of Valencia on mainland Spain.
The team’s ties with Benicassim are of a commercial as well as a riding benefit, with Lotto-Soudal’s bike sponsor, Ridley, having a test centre in the town.
However, there’s plenty to keep the riders happy, as we saw when we joined the Belgian team back in 2013, with mixed terrain, warm weather and quiet roads to practice Andre Greipel’s sprint lead-out.
There are a number of climbs within a short ride of Benicassim, with a few tougher ascents to really test the legs, but it is the quiet roads which make it such an ideal place to train.
Houtekier explained that the camp in Benicassim is just a small part of Lotto-Soudal’s winter training, with team-bonding camps in Belgium, groups heading to Mallorca and also Jasper de Buyst racing on the track.
Who trains there? Lotto-Soudal