Hidden Valencia

Did you know that when WorldTour pros and amateurs alike are fastening their seat belts in preparation for landing en route to Denia and Calpe in Spain, they are actually flying over cycling terrain that is even better than where they’re headed.For just 170km further north lies the province of Castellon, still part of the Comunidad Valenciana, and offering a wealth of spectacular roads with none of the hype and at times crowdedness experienced just down the coast.Roughly half the size of Alicante – the province where you’ll find the pro winter hideaway of Denia and Calpe – Castellon is the second most mountainous region out of 50 in Spain, and when you consider that only Switzerland is classified as more mountainous than Spain in the whole of Europe, you begin to understand just how hilly this little pocket of land pressed up against the Mediterranean really is.It’s why Mathieu van der Poel keeps coming back year after year, and why former British pro Tim Harris took the EF-Education-Tibco-SVB women’s team there on a training camp in the winter just gone. “I’ve been all around Europe but Castellon is the best place to ride a bike - it’s got absolutely everything,” says Harris.“You can just go forever into the mountains and it’s absolutely beautiful. Great roads, lots of hills, some flat roads, pretty villages, nice weather, and best of all you can literally do hours and hours of training and not see a single car. I think those who only go to Mallorca or Calpe are really missing out on some great riding.”The sights, smells and sounds – pine and cork oak trees, sandstone mountains and eagles – aren’t really any different to what you’d be presented with on the slopes of the Coll de Rates or Puig Major, but what sets Castellon apart is its solitude.That’s not to say it’s a total secret: the men’s and women’s Vueltas a España and Voltas a Valencianas frequently host stages there, but a lack of big hotel infrastructure has held it back from being able to compete with its richer and flashier neighbours one long bike ride away.Then again, it’s better like that. Former Tour de France stage winner and now local resident Sean Yates rates the region as “the best place you can think of if you want a serious training camp and mega rides.”Inspired, we went to see what all the fuss was really about, and tested our legs on four different routes, each one including a must-do climb.