Rocacorba, ESP

Rocacorba is the most famous climb that has never seen a professional race. The dead-end road up the Puigsou near Girona became a benchmark anyway: this is where WorldTour pros test their form, ever since Girona became their adopted home.

Rocacorba at a glance

From Banyoles it is 11.8 kilometres and 792 metres of climbing up to 959 metres, averaging 6 percent. The average lies: flat sections and ramps of up to 20 percent alternate, nothing here is steady. At the top stand a radio mast and the Santuari de Rocacorba, a 12th-century sanctuary. The road was originally built for the monastery and the transmitter, and only in 2006 was it fully paved. Before that, the tarmac ended in gravel four kilometres below the summit.

Route description

The first half from Banyoles is a warm-up: three to seven percent with almost flat stretches in between, the road winding through woodland above the lake of Banyoles. At kilometre six the real test begins. Three kilometres averaging around ten percent, well into double digits on the ramps, with the hardest kilometre averaging close to twelve percent and peaking at 20.

Shortly before the summit the road grants you a flatter kilometre, then kicks up one last time. The surface is rough and uneven in places, the road narrow. In return, the top rewards you with views across Catalonia to the Pyrenees, and on clear days the Mediterranean.

History and racing

Rocacorba has no racing history, and that is precisely its story. No Giro, no Vuelta, not even the Volta a Catalunya has ever climbed it, the road is a dead end. The mountain became famous through the pros living in Girona: David Millar turned Rocacorba into his form test (under 30 minutes means you are flying) and later founded the Velo Club Rocacorba. Dan Martin, Ryder Hesjedal and half the WorldTour followed.

Today the Strava segment is the real competition: the KOM duel between pros and ambitious amateurs makes this perhaps the most timed training climb in Europe. A mountain whose myth was built entirely without racing. That is rare.

Practical tips

Rocacorba works almost year-round, Girona is a training base for a reason. In high summer start early, the lower kilometres trap the heat. Fill up on water in Banyoles beforehand, there is nothing on the mountain, and at the top only the antenna awaits. The surface is rough: skip the lightweight tyres, ride 28 millimetres instead. The descent demands concentration, narrow road, restless tarmac, oncoming traffic.

How does Rocacorba compare?

In character, Rocacorba is the Catalan cousin of the Lombard classics: no high mountains, but venomous. The Madonna del Ghisallo has the chapel and the racing history, the Muro di Sormano the more brutal gradients. Rocacorba has something both lack: the constant presence of the pro peloton. If you ride in Girona, there is no way around this mountain.

Rocacorba is featured on our 100 Climbs posters in DIN A1 format.

Why is Rocacorba so famous?

Because Girona has been the adopted home of many WorldTour pros since the 2000s, and Rocacorba became their house test climb. David Millar established it as a form test, and the Strava segment keeps the competition alive to this day. The climb has never featured in a professional race.

How hard is the climb to Rocacorba?

11.8 kilometres with 792 metres of climbing from Banyoles, averaging 6 percent. The difficulty lies in the irregularity: the second half brings ramps of up to 20 percent, interrupted by short flat sections that break your rhythm.

What is at the top of Rocacorba?

The Santuari de Rocacorba, a 12th-century sanctuary, and a telecommunications mast the road was originally built for. Plus the view across Catalonia, reaching the Pyrenees in clear weather.