Mare de Deu del Mont, such a climb!

Great views to Canigou from the top!

Mare de Deu del Mont is an iconic climb in Girona province. The mountain is visible in the distance, a shap peak with a building on top, with the road snaking to get there. It has spectacular views over Canigou mountain in Pyrenees, but also to the Roses bay and the Empordà region.

The road is in quite good shape, very narrow at some points. No problem at all when climbing, specially because it is a very solitaire road with no traffic at all (specially on working days), but the descent should be taken carefully...

Important to say that there are 2 different sides joining at about 7 km to the top (see in elevation profile crossroad to Besalú-Beuda). The side from Besalu-Beuda is in pretty bad shape so it is recommended to avoid this side (specially downhill!). This is important because the side from Besalu-Beuda is the closest to Girona and many cyclists get this road. But the right side to climb and descent is Cabanelles (crossroad on N260 road).

Close to the top!

At the top of the climb your get an unasphalted parking area, but it is absolutely worth to go a bit further and reach de Sanctuary and the restaurant. Views are spectacular! You can also find a statue of Mossen Cinto Verdaguer, one of the most important writers in catalan language.

You can see the numbers in the joined profile. Very long climb (almost 19 km at a 5% average gradient), but with very steep sections up to 14%... Worth a try!!

A real challenge!

Rocacorba

Classical picture at the top!

Rocacorba is one of the most famous climbs around Girona. There are other very known climbs (Els Angels, very close to Girona probably the most popular one), but if you are searching for some steep climb, do not hesitate, this is it.

Here you can see details km per km

Rocacorba is a Sanctuary and it means literally "folded rock". The road leads to an antena at the end of the climb (it is a "cul de sac" as french say), and the desviation to the Sanctuary is about 200 mts before you get the end of the road. Obviously you have to descend the same way you climbed.

Views at the top are spectacular, specially overlooking the Banyoles lake (the climb begins at Porqueres, very close to the popular Banyoles lake, where triathlon is really popular).

This road is a pretty modern road as it was just asphalted on 2006 (!), no wonder it has become a very popular climb just in recent years.

Here you have the link to the Strava segment of this iconic climb. Notice some popular riders on top 10: Simon Yates, Adam Yates or David de la Cruz.