Mount Teide (Tenerife) - Cycling Inspiration & Education
Mountain | reviews | videos | photos
Just off the north-west coast of Africa, Tenerife is the largest and most popular of the seven Canary Islands, a magnet for tourists in search of winter sun and sangria. Of course, if lying by the pool isn’t your thing then you may wish to turn your attention towards the mighty Mount Teide, its snowy volcanic peak rising up to 3,718 metres above sea level making it the highest point in Spain. Cycling from El Médano you actually face one of the shorter of the six main routes, just 51km(!) up to the Teide plateau. Most comparable in terms of average gradient and length to the magnificent Col de L’Iseran from Bourg Saint Maurice in the French Alps, Teide is the only place in Europe where you can climb continuously from sea level to 2,100 metres in one go. It’s not the gradient, it’s the length that really takes its toll on this one. More than a climb, it feels like a full on bike ride as you trace your way out of town and towards Las Cañadas, a collapsed crater measuring 48km in circumference that El Teide sits within. As the glistening Atlantic coastline and old fishing hamlet of El Médano fade away, the aroma of eucalyptus fills the air as the road gently twists and turns ahead. From Granadilla the gradient continues to hold its form around 4-6% allowing you to really enjoy your surrounds. Take some time to recover and refuel at the halfway point in Vilaflor, things are about to be turned up a notch as the gradient hits 11% before you rise above the clouds and enter the Teide National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site no less. There’s little wonder why over three million tourists are drawn towards Teide’s mystique. The sheer scale and beauty is hard to comprehend (especially after over 50km on the bike!) Although the road continues up to the foot of the volcano at 2,325 metres elevation (where you can then take a cable car to the top) it’s the Parador de las Cañadas hotel (famously used by Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky in his build up to the Tour de France) at 2,152 metres where the pro’s choose to recover and soak up the view. What a climb. What a ride! Start: El Médano Length: 51km Summit: 2,325m Elevation gain: 2,547m Average gradient: 4.6% Max gradient: 11% Ridden in February We were lucky enough to partner with island experts FREE MOTION for our visit to Teide. These guys really know how to look after you, offering a world class bike rental service and daily guided tours they are definitely the people to see if you’re planning a trip. Check them out at http://FREE-MOTION.com/en/tenerife. Thank you to our partners Mavic, Cannondale, Exposure Lights, Fi’zi:k, Haute Route, Lezyne, Map My Tracks, Muc Off, Scicon, The Sufferfest, TORQ and USE for enabling us to bring these truly special mountains to life for you all. If you're in need of new bike kit in the future and you enjoyed this video then bear them in mind and help keep the wheels turning :-) For more help and advice visit our website at http://thecolcollective.com, become part of our col community and sign up for our free newsletter for monthly updates. Never miss a video, subscribe to our YouTube channel or get in touch on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. We’d love to hear from you. Stay well, ride safe and thank you for watching. Mike Cotty The Col Collective Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheColCollective?sub_confirmation=1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheColCollective Twitter: https://twitter.com/colcollective Instagram: http://instagram.com/thecolcollective Google+: https://plus.google.com/+TheColCollective
Comments
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Excellent ride! Question for you Mike - I am 60 years old and upgrading to a Canyon CF SLX, either the 9.0 with Dura Ace or the 8.0 with Ultegra. Your thoughts on Dura Ace vs Ultegra? Going to be spending time in Europe doing some of your climbs - perhaps even the Haute Route.
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Check out "Alto de Letras" here in Colombia. You go from 495m to 3679m in 80kms! It'd be nice to have Mike down here and explore all the amazing climbs and cycling culture this far from Europe. cheers.
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I think you might need a little more fluids lol. seriously how do you not burn? I go up tiede all the time and it's a very hostile place. good job my man
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I've just discovered your channel, thanks for sharing all these amazing experiences, it's truly inspirational and this will lead me to improve so i can be finally able to climb these tremendous hills. Please keep on enjoying by riding and providing us such great videos.
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Awesome vids Mike
A m8 and me are going to ride that in nov :0) but how long time would you say that it would take a normal amateur ?
Thx Brian -
Tırmanış videolarınızı izlemek gerçekten çok keyifli. Teşekkür ederim, sürdüğünüz yolları kıskandım :)
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Fantastic me and the boys will be doing this one . Grate filming it shows what you can see on a bike you are with nature .
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pro team stomping ground...
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Impressive !!! Well done .
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Mike, I noticed you didn't speak much on the climb....:)
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I'd love u to upload more often:)
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Great video! Thank you. Have you considered profiling Haleakala in Maui?
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Hi Mike, do you ever ride with a power meter?
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Great video! Thanks for sharing...
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Great looking location. Looks like a nice climb.👍🏼🚴🏼. Love the footage thanks guys.
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Fantastic climb, beautiful views. as always very inspirational. Have you thought about going to El Veleta in Sierra Nevada, Spain?
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Looks like a great experience although that elevation gain is four times what I'm used to doing in same distance where I live (and about 10,000 feet higher at the top) :-o
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Looks like Bend
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Beautiful work there, brilliant camera work... fantastic effort as usual Mike, so wonderful to see this video, just finished a long one myself coming from a 300 kms ride covering 4000 mts of elevation. You just took me back into the moments of those climbs... Keep inspiring :)
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Brilliant video, I rode this last August escaping 'Blackpool in the Sun' and the family. No snow then! 😎
7m 38sLenght