CYCLING PARADISE

Believe it or not, the ultimate cyclist’s playground can be found just 200 miles off the coast of Africa, a four-to-five-hour flight from most of Europe. Tenerife has become a favourite training ground for the world’s best Grand Tour riders including Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Alberto Contador. Besides relatively cheap flights, a wealth of accommodation and a stable warm climate, the big draw for cyclists is Mt Teide (3.718m). The volcano that dominates the island hosts the longest continuous ascent (from sea level) in Europe at 35km (22 miles) with 2,100m of climbing. Not only can you benefit from the performance gains of training at altitude, but professionals and ambitious amateurs alike can enjoy the varied terrain and landscape surrounding the volcano all year round. There may be very few flat roads on the island, but for the ultimate training experience, you can’t get much better than Tenerife.