Spotlight on cycling in the Canary Islands – perfect for winter training
This month, we’re highlighting our fantastic cycling holidays in the Canaries. We’ve just wrapped up another few weeks of excellent cycling in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, and what a blast! It was great to be back in Tenerife and even more special to return to Gran Canaria for the first time since 2020.
You’ll be pleased to know that we’ve already fixed our departures for our 2026 Canarian tours, so if you’d like to join us for some winter cycling next year, these are the dates for your diary:
Tour of Tenerife & El Teide: 4 – 11 March 2026
Tour of Gran Canaria: 12 – 19 March 2026
Tenerife cycling tour – the perfect winter training ground
Tenerife really is a superb place to ride a bike. With endless kms of smooth tarmac as well as challenging climbs, it’s a cracking destination if you want a cycling holiday to escape the long winter months of the northern hemisphere. The variety of the island’s landscape is particularly fascinating. From lush, almost tropical mountain sides, to volcanic craters and lava fields, you’ll love the diversity of your surroundings.
Across the week, you’ll have numerous route options to choose from. On days one and two, there’s a Classic or a Challenge route, and for the remainder of the week, there are three routes to choose from each day. Across six days, the average daily stats for the Classic route are 60.5km with 1,410m of ascent. If you were to ride the Challenge route each day, these stats ramp up to a daily average of 98.5 km with 2,563m of climbing.
“It’s a great route – there are a few very tough days! A fantastic way to discover the variety of the island” D. Tincello
While the weather is sadly out of our control, you can generally expect average daily temperatures in March to hit 22°C with seven hours of sunshine. Of course, much like on the mainland, it will be cooler at altitude, and weather conditions do vary. For this reason, on the packing list which we post on The Link, we always advise you to take enough warm gear. This can be kept in your day bag, and our guides will look after it in the van until you need access to it during the day.
You can read all the details about the routes and climbs on the Tour of Tenerife & El Teide webpage, so click the link if you’re keen to know more.
Cycling tour of Gran Canaria – explore the whole of the island with our support
The cyclists who came with us this year – our first time on the island since 2020 – were blown away by how fantastic the cycling was. We’ve had some great feedback about our new routes, which were an upgrade on our previous itinerary and now cover the whole of the island.
“Great roads, decent weather….quite possibly the best week of cycling I think I’ve ever done” A. Hughes
Some of the highlights of this tour are:
- Six days of cycling all the must-do climbs of the south and the less-visited north
- Conquer the spectacular Valley of the Tears climb
- Optional sea-to-summit challenge Pico de las Nieves
- Flexible pace cycling with daily route options, including a manageable Classic route, plus optional extra loops and climbs on the Challenge route
- Exceptional support from two knowledgeable and passionate Marmot guides with fully kitted-out vans
- Stay in cyclist-friendly 4* hotels, including the renowned Parador Cruz de Tejeda, popular with the pro teams
- Many flight options from UK regional airports, and beyond.
The choice of hotels available to us on the island is quite different if you’re used to holidaying with us in the Alps, Pyrenees, or anywhere else in the mountains of mainland Europe. The hotels are all larger and have wonderful pools, which is great if you wish to take a dip at the end of a tough day in the saddle. The Parador in particular was a firm favourite amongst all our clients, and it’s easy to see why – what a view!
(Image courtesy of client Micah Singer)
Why not take the opportunity to feel some sun on your back and stretch out your legs in time for spring cycling and summer challenges? You can read all the details about our Tour of Gran Canaria on the dedicated webpage, so just head over there if it sounds of interest.
The cyclists who came with us this year were all quick off the mark when reserving their place on both of our Canaries tours. One rider even booked for both islands and our team was able to help with the logistics for this. Cycling for two weeks back to back is always a great option, especially if you’re travelling from outside Europe and flying long-haul.
(Image courtesy of client Edward Hems)
Our team is fantastic at helping you with any queries you might have, whether it’s by email or on the phone, so don’t hesitate to get in touch about either of these tours. You can either give us a call on +44 (0)1373 830409 or click ENQUIRE NOW from the tour webpage. We’ll usually get back to you within 24 hours, so you can start researching your travel options and getting your ducks in a row.
So, how about a winter cycling tour in the Canaries in 2026? Vamos!
Cycling holidays for groups in the mountain ranges of Europe
This is just a heads-up that we’ve still got space to take small groups – and solo travelers, of course – on the following tours and departures in 2025:
- Raid Corsica 27 May – 3 June
- Raid Pyrenees 7 – 13 June, 21 – 27 June, 13 – 19 September
- Slovenia & Monte Zoncolan 14 – 21 June
- Swiss Alps 5 – 11 July, 12 – 18 July
- Raid Alpine 19 – 26 July
- Alpine Classic Cols 23 – 30 Aug, 30 August – 6 September
- Picos & Angliru 21 – 28 September, 28 September – 5 October
- Club des Cinglés du Mont Ventoux Challenge 4 – 7 October.
Ride at your own pace and decide how tough you want your day to be on one of our flexible pace tours. Or test your mettle in a point-to-point timed cycling challenge. Either way, you’ll have the support of two exceptional Marmot guides who are experts at helping you achieve your goals.
We have very limited availability across all our other tours, so do get in touch quickly if you’ve still got a cycling holiday in mind, but haven’t gotten around to getting in touch yet.
📣PLEASE NOTE! If you’re thinking ahead to 2026 and are interested in coming cycling with us as a large group, now is the time to get in touch because we’re putting together our calendar of 2026 spring and summer tours. If we know you have a tour and/or dates in mind, we will try to incorporate your request into our calendar.
Watch this space for 2026 spring and summer European cycling tour departures … dates and itineraries incoming!
Road cycling tours with the ultimate support on the road
If you’ve not been on holiday with us before, you won’t have experienced the support we offer, and you do have to experience it to believe it!
The reputation of our guides precedes them. They are the coalface of our company, the brand ambassadors above all others, and they make all the difference to your cycling experience in the mountains. We are incredibly lucky – and proud – to have them in our team. They routinely go the extra mile and have an uncanny knack for knowing just what you need and when you need it when turning the pedals. They’re also great folk to be around – whether it’s motivating you to dig deep on a climb, or just chilling out over a beer before dinner.
“Seamless logistics, the guides were always magically in the right place at the right time with the right bags, both guides were friendly, helpful and knowledgeable – nothing was too much trouble . Can’t fault them!” F. Walker.
Secondly, our App, which we launched last year, is a unique component of our support. This is available free from the Apple App Store and Google Play, and you can download it to your phone anytime. A week before your holiday starts, the App will be populated automatically with your itinerary details, and it will contain everything (and more) that our old paper route notes would have included.
Route notes, safety and support information (tips like ‘Watch out for a tricky descent’ or highlighting the location of the next cafe, perhaps), plus an optional live tracking feature, are amongst its many benefits. If tracking is enabled, you’ll be able to see the position of our support vans, as well as our guides being able to pinpoint your exact location. We know that a patchy phone signal can cause tracking delays, so our guides will continue to optimise the van support per the route options, weather, and the requirements of the group as a whole. As ever, if you need to speak to one of your guides urgently, you can message or call them directly.
We hope you’ll enjoy using the App to explore your route in the week before your trip starts, as well as in the evening before each day’s ride. We will, of course, continue to provide our comprehensive GPS route files for you to download to your handlebar navigation device for on-the-road route finding!
Last but by no means least – our trusty vans and their cornucopia of contents! From spare tubes, to tubs of butt cream. From defibrilators to plasters. Water to refill your bidons and watermelon (or other fruits if that’s what we can get our hands on!). Jelly sweets, M&M’s, and salty nuts to tasty snack bars. This year, we’re stocking Veloforte energy and protein bars in our vans, so hopefully, there’ll be some left for you on your trip, if the cyclists on tours before you haven’t devoured them all!
These are just a handful of ways in which we support you, because we know that when you come on your much-longed-for cycling holiday, you want to focus on the cycling and the good times. You can rest assured that we’ve got your back for everything except turning the pedals (sorry – that bit’s up to you!).
You might have already booked your cycling holiday (or holidays!) for 2025, and at some point, you’ll be thinking about what kit to take. Along with the packing list, which you can access in The Link, you’ll be considering your beloved bike and whether or not it’s fit for cycling in the mountains. We’ve compiled a blog highlighting our experience of delamination in carbon wheels with rim brakes, and it’s essential reading if you currently use this combination in your wheelset. When cycling in the mountains, you’re racking up metres of ascent and descent in the thousands. This significantly influences the wheelsets that are optimum for riding in these conditions. Read on for all you need to know!
