Terry van Kalken

Mallorca 312  

For the past 8 years I have been fortunate enough to have had a second home on Mallorca, the Spanish island in the Med just off the coast from Barcelona. With my wife, I spend a few months every year there based in the town of Soller. What I didn't realize when we bought here was that Mallorca is a magnet for cycling, especially road cycling. The smooth roads, the challenges of the Serra Tramuntana mountains and amazing views attract over 150,000 cyclists from all over Europe and further abroad every year. This culminates in an annual cycle event called the Mallorca 312, which as the name suggests is a 312 km ride around the island. This mega ride includes 4700m of elevation and is not for the feint hearted! There are two shorter rides that run concurrently: 226 km with 3600 m of elevation and 167 km with 2300 m.

After having been a spectator last year, this year I decided to have a crack at the 167 km course, which I still considered to be a challenge! Getting a place at the event is the hardest part – the registration web site opens in October but the available places are all gone in seconds! I missed out but managed to get a place as part of a hotel package which worked out well, as the start of the event in Platya de Muro is on the other side of the island to our house in Soller.

So at 5.30 am on a cold morning on April 25th I lined up with 9000 odd other riders for the start of the 2026 edition. My aim was just to finish but I was curious to see if I could make the first cutoff for the longer routes which comes at the 97 km mark. Between the start at that point however there is the highest peak on the island (Puig Major, 870 m) to get over plus a further 1100 of climbing after that.

The start as you'd expect was slow but we soon got up to speed along the coastal road just as the sun was getting up. Once the climbing started the pack thinned out but was still very bunched up going up the mountain and I really had no choice but to ride along at the same pace. The ride down from the Puig Major is 15 km on a long beautiful smooth road but which also has some sharp bends and which claimed a few riders going faster than their abilities allowed. At the end of the descent we passed through my town of Soller and then we started another long climb along the coast up to the Col den Claret (490 m). The 312 /226 cutoff comes just after this at the 100 km mark and I was happy to see I made it with 10 minutes to spare. I had a fleeting thought to turn right to the 226 course but gladly (later) decided to turn left to the 167 route and stick with my original plan.

After a 15 minute food and water stop, I continued and got on the tail of a couple of faster groups heading back eastward to the finish. I had a slightly longer stop in the town of Lloseta at the 132 km mark as my back and backside were starting to feel it and I needed a stretch! On the final leg I again managed to latch myself to a small group and hung on the back, crossing the finish line after 7 hours and 38 mins. (Strava moving time was 6 hours 47 min 😊).

Overall this was a fantastically organized event especially considering the number of participants. We had crowds cheering us on in the towns we passed through and the food stops were well stocked and organized. There was a massive expo at the start/end in Platya de Muro selling all things cycling, and a pasta party with entertainment, food and beer. If anyone is considering doing this I'd certainly recommend it and happy to answer any questions. If you're interested check out the official web page at https://mallorca312.com/ or subscribe to their socials. I'll be having a go again next year – maybe I'll try the 226 (with some extra training!). See you back on the Sunny Coast roads in July!

Terry van Kalken
terryvankalken@gmail.com