Produced in association with Volta Cicloturista Internacional a Menorca
The Mallorca 312 might grab all the headlines as the premier Balearic bucket-list challenge, but over on its smaller and quieter neighbour, Menorca, there’s an alternative and arguably more authentic ride that’s been happening every October for the last 25 years.
In the past I’ve compared the Volta a Menorca to a tapas of bike-related dishes to be savoured over three relaxed, sunny days instead of a single gut-busting helping of monster mountains to be swallowed before a cut-off time. I first rode the Volta in 2003 and I keep coming back for seconds, thirds, fourths… 2025 was my sixth time.
Starting from Mahon, the capital, each of the three stages traces a different route into the interior of the island, rolling between drystone walls through peaceful landscapes of traditional agriculture and native pine trees, passing through the middle of tranquil towns such as Es Migjorn and Es Mercadal or looping out to the craggy coastline before returning to Mahon.
The event is supported by the Fundacio Foment del Turisme de Menorca, a non-profit organisation that brings together the public and private sector to promote domestic and international tourism on the island, meaning it is as much for local cycling clubs as it is for foreign bike tourists. The azure blue jerseys of the Menorca Cycling Association make up the single biggest club out of the 300-odd participants, and there are many more clubs and teams who hop over from Mallorca or mainland Spain to take part. British riders generally make up the majority of the overseas contingent and in 2025 the 20-strong Team Pomada (named after a Menorca gin cocktail) clad in yellow Rapha jerseys came to boss the gruppetto.
Rather than close the roads completely, the majority of the Tour of Menorca is run with a rolling road closure, a large peloton cruising behind a lead car with police motorcycles further ahead to wave it through and periodically pausing to regroup in a town or at a junction. On Saturday and Sunday the lead car pulls off for two timed hill-climbs – one up the steep access road to the disused US military base of S’Enclusa and the other to the summit of Monte Toro, the highest point of the island. The times are added up for a general classification at the end, with certificates and trophies presented at a sit-down meal at Mahon’s exhibition centre.
Organiser Arturo Sintes, who is a former president of the Balearic cycling federation, invites celebrity guests each year – not just for the presentation but also to join the rides – and has brought some of the biggest names to Menorca, including Miguel Indurain and Abraham Olano. This year his ‘invitados’ included Joane Somarriba, winner of three Tours de France Feminins, two Giros d’Italia and the World Time Trial Championship; and Joseba Beloki, third in the Tour de France in 2000 and 2001 and second in 2002. Last year Haimar Zubeldia stormed up Monte Toro and in my previous participations I’ve ridden alongside the likes of Iban Mayo, Mavi Garcia, Fernando Escartin and Marga Fullana.
Day one, on the Friday afternoon, serves as a dress rehearsal, making sure everyone can navigate up Mahon’s narrow streets to the cobbled Placa de la Constiticio, where the Grand Départ will take place the next day in front of the neoclassical town hall and the towering Santa Maria church. It’s also a chance to sample some of the Menorcan roads, sights and foods ahead of the longest day on Saturday – just under 100 kilometres – and the Monte Toro queen stage – 53 kilometres – on Sunday.
In 2025 the Friday prologue destination is the coastal fortress at La Mola on the eastern tip of the island, about 15 kilometres away, which is also the easternmost point of Spanish territory. Menorca has an eventful history, invaded by the British and French and eventually heavily fortified by the Spanish in the 19th century. La Mola was built to defend the port of Mahon and in the early 1930s two enormous Vickers cannons were installed here, able to fire an 860-kilo shell up to 35 kilometres, literally aiming to blast anything out of the water that looked like a threat during the Spanish Civil War, World War Two and beyond. They were decommissioned in the mid-2000s and are now a visitor attraction – the clifftop has fabulous views as well as terrifying obsolete military hardware.
Back at the town square in Mahon an hour or so later, the organisers have their own fortifications ready for the riders: trestle tables decked with plates of local Coinga cheese and small bottles of pomada (that gin cocktail again) before things get semi-serious the next day.
On Saturday morning Mahon is in full race mode with a wooden stage erected in front of the town hall, an inflatable gantry swaying above the start line, riders meeting, milling and chatting excitedly and bikes propped in every available space. Clubs and teams mount the steps of the stage to sign on together, waving to the crowd like pros at the start of a Grand Tour, and europop blasts out of the PA. Beloki arrives with a new Giant TCR custom painted in the scheme of his original ONCE bike and poses good-humouredly for selfies. Sintes takes the mic and delivers a five-minute countdown. 'Always Remember Us This Way' by Lady Gaga is playing as the peloton streams under the gantry and descends the twisty road down to the harbour.
There’s still a festival atmosphere as we head out past the yachts and the palm trees onto the road towards Ciutadella, the second biggest town that’s on the opposite end of the island from Mahon. It’s warm and sunny, the pace is easy with the lead car travelling at about 30kph, and everyone seems to know each other. I get chatting to a British guy, who recognises my Racer Rosa bike, made to measure in Italy by Daccordi. “That’s from Walthamstow, isn’t it?” he mocks. I recognise another Brit from a previous time here, wearing London Dynamo kit with a lovely Colnago C50. Many of the foreigners riding here have connections with Menorca – they’ve come here in the past and gone cycling with the local club; I meet another rider about my age who has been coming to Menorca on holiday since he was a kid, and now brings his own young family here to stay in the same hotel.
The locals, bantering in Menorquin, look like racers and it’s clear they can’t wait to break free of the car on the timed climb to S’Enclusa that we’re heading towards. Occasionally, almost as an impromptu warm-up, the lead car accelerates in order to reach a road junction before the riders and they sprint after it, drafting and drag racing each other.
The S’Enclusa climb, when it comes, is vicious compared to the gentle rollers we’ve got used to. After crossing the timing mat at the bottom, it’s only just over a kilometre long, but it averages over 10 per cent and the start is the steepest with a maximum of 14 per cent. The locals know this, and they smash it from the bottom. I’d forgotten this detail, having last ridden it in 2018, and was 12 seconds slower than seven years ago according to my Strava. I’m 47th overall and eighth in my age category. The fastest, over two minutes ahead of me, is 17-year-old Alvaro Alvarez De Luna of Menorcan club Penya Ciclista Ciutadella. There’s a feed stop at the top, in the courtyard of the abandoned Cold War base, whose ruined buildings are now covered in garish graffiti, and we eat energy bars and drink Coke in slightly surreal surroundings before remounting and heading back down to more familiar Menorcan scenery and the return to Mahon.
The final stage, Sunday, again starts in the Placa de la Constitucio and rolls out of the harbour, but it’s shorter than Saturday's because we have a mountain to climb – the formidable Monte Toro, which stands like a sentinel in the centre of the island – and a banquet to consume afterwards.
From Es Mercadal the road winds 2.5 kilometres up to the summit of Monte Toro. The gradient is just under 10 per cent on average, pretty steep but fairly even with no ridiculous vertical hairpins and starting fairly easily. I pass Beloki near the bottom (obviously he has nothing left to prove on climbs) and admire the ONCE paint and he acknowledges: “Yes, they did a beautiful job!”. The road becomes more exposed as the road ascends above the treeline and there are at least two steeper, straight ramps that feel as though they’re hanging in mid air. On the summit there’s a huge Rio de Janeiro-style Christ the Redeemer statue and a spectacular 360-degree panorama. You can see all the way to both ends of the island and beyond. The whole thing is breathtaking in all ways.
Going back down takes a fraction of the 14:07 it took me to climb it (this time slightly faster than my 2018 time and sixth in my age category) but as momentarily thrilling as an Alpine descent before we’re together again in a big bunch and riding back towards Mahon with 'Return to Sender' playing tinnily out of the lead car.
There’s a quick turnaround before we meet again at the Mahon exhibition centre for the lunch and the presentation. There’s a seating plan, waiters, a delicious three-course meal, wine and everyone is called up individually to receive their certificate and there are lots of prizes. After my second Volta in 2004 I was awarded a big metal statue of a straining cyclist for the fastest ascent of Monte Toro by a non-pro (I still think it was really Sintes being nice); in 2018 I was given a plaque for five participations and this time they gave me a special tile to say thank you, which I will treasure with the other two.
I’m the one who needs to say thank you – the Volta a Menorca has honestly been a highlight of my cycling life. Next year, 2026, is the 25th event and the organisers are promising something special. I won’t miss it for the world – see you on the Placa in Mahon!
Keep an eye on the event website for the latest updates.
