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British teams go head-to-head with Majorca Sa Calobra (which is your fave?) +Videos

On-bike camera footage as Raleigh and IG-Sigma Sport, and Madion Genesis tackle Majorca's fearsome Sa Calobra...

While we have to tough out the horrible weather, those lucky professional cyclists jet off to sunnier climes where they can keep pedalling under the sun and on gloriously smooth roads free of traffic. Of the most popular such escapes is Spanish island Majorca, a veritable paradise for cyclists with usually nice weather, hundreds of kilometres of roads and some mountainous terrain.

If you’ve never been to Majorca, then let these three videos from British teams Genesis-Madison, Team Raleigh and Team IG-Sigma Sport, give you an inkling of what you’re missing out on. The popularity of small, affordable cameras, and the desire of most modern teams to engage directly with their fans through social media, has given rise to unprecedented access to what they get up to away from the race circuit.

 

In this video Team Raleigh’s videographer Joe Coales accompanied the team on a recent trip to Majorca and captured some spectacular footage of the team in action as they trained on the island’s twisting roads and mountainous terrain.

Sa Calobra is the most famous mountain descent on the island, and this video from Team IG-Sigma Sport takes takes you on a journey through the 26 hairpin turns on the 10km descent.

And lastly, the new team on the block, Madison Genesis, produced this video from their recent early season training camp which we've featured a few weeks ago on the site - like Team IG-Sigma Sport the Madison Genesis boys tackle the Sa Calobra descent. Not sure who wins this particular head to head… what do you think?

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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12 comments

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Paul J | 11 years ago
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They should have slowed down before going into the small town toward the end - rather than slowing down once mostly through it.

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koko56 | 11 years ago
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Watched it again - guess there are a couple of sketchy moments but that's from only what I can see on the camera.

Just when I watched it a while ago nothing really jumped out at me, just some praw descending!

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soundsunlikely replied to koko56 | 11 years ago
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koko56 wrote:

Watched it again - guess there are a couple of sketchy moments but that's from only what I can see on the camera.

Just when I watched it a while ago nothing really jumped out at me, just some praw descending!

It certainly looks like a thrilling descent and I'd kill for that level of skill, confidence and road handling.  13

 39 On second thoughts I'd probably kill just to do that descent in my own humble way- it looks a dream.

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Alan Tullett | 11 years ago
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Haven't cycled in Majorca since I lived there 20 years ago. Wish I was there now. When I retire definitely want to spend a couple of months a year there, superb place in many ways.

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Jon Burrage | 11 years ago
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continuity is all over the place in the madison one too.

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soundsunlikely | 11 years ago
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Sigma seem to have the lowest life expectancy.

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koko56 replied to soundsunlikely | 11 years ago
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soundsunlikely wrote:

Sigma seem to have the lowest life expectancy.

Huh?  7

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soundsunlikely replied to koko56 | 11 years ago
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Ho ho ho hoes Wrote:
Huh?  7

I just thought some of those overtaking manoeuvres were a little bit sketchy. Yes it makes for exciting vids but it also looks like it's veering towards glamourising risk-taking.

I'm not sure that's the most sound of ideas.

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Jon Burrage | 11 years ago
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Or this one. I think ones for 'normal' cyclists and triathletes are much better than the produced, marketed ones for pro teams.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFtZRNvdS58 riding starts at 1 minute or so.

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roughwaters99 | 11 years ago
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They're good, but I rather like these two from Tri Team Glos' Majorcan training camp last week:
Sa Calobra descent -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgN_4g33y90
Randa Monastary - http://www.youtube.com/watch?nomobile=1&v=vyf1zEq7-zA
Good soundtracks too!

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Rupert49 | 11 years ago
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Was there a week ago today, wish I was back there.  20

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koosiegreen | 11 years ago
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being where they were training would be grand right about now.

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