The most celebrated climb never to have featured in a pro race
Words Nick Christian Photography Patrik Lundin
Classic Climbs
T hanks to its warm climate, laidback vibe and easy access to training roads, Girona in northeast Spain has become a magnet for pro cyclists. You can’t chuck a bread roll without hitting an Esteban Chaves, a Kasia Niewiadoma or a George Bennett. The city was ‘discovered’ in the mid-1990s by American riders crossing the Atlantic to join the European pro circuit, and the trickle of interest became a flood when Lance Armstrong’s US Postal was the first team to establish a European base there in 1997. From the mid-2000s, for any rider to show they had what it took to make it in cycling, first they had to prove themselves on the local test-piece: Rocacorba.
Although the Anglos of that particular era are long gone, their successors have kept on coming. That means the Strava leaderboard, rather than being replete with Rauls, Enrics and Jordis, is made up mainly of names of the Harrison, Neilson, Brandon and Jordan variety. The current titleholder is actually a Brit, Paul Double of Human Powered Health, who claimed the title only this past summer. South African pro Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio claimed the women’s record during the summer of Covid.
‘The first day we could ride outside, I made it my mission,’ she told GCN in February. At the time of writing there isn’t another woman within four minutes.
In and out of fashion
Be warned. Where once Rocacorba was trendy, it is now just as likely to invite scorn. Tell a certain sort of person you’re excited to take it on and they will almost certainly reply with how overrated it is, or sniff about how many superior climbs there are in Catalunya.
Don’t be put off. Rocacorba would not have maintained its popularity among the pros if it didn’t offer a particular kind of test, one that is hard to find elsewhere. That challenge is one of variety rather than hard-as-nails difficulty. Rocacorba is not outrageously long nor is it particularly steep, but it has a way of draining energy through constant changes of gradient that make it tougher than its stats would suggest.
‘If there’s one thing that’s hard on this climb,’ says David Millar, former pro and founder of Velo Club Rocacorba, ‘it’s finding a rhythm.’
The first decision you’ll have to make is whether to tackle Rocacorba in its 14km form or the 10km version. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the extra distance will add kudos to your achievement.
