the Back Road Cadí: Course, Route Profile & Map

Course & Elevation

Both stages start and finish in Bellver de Cerdanya, where the riders sleep, eat and collect their numbers. Stage 1 is the signature day, the loop the organiser calls the Volta Integral al Cadí, through the Alt Urgell, the Cerdanya and the Berguedà. Stage 2 stays closer to home, with a long climb out of the valley in its first half and a second one after 67 km.

It is a weekend format rather than a race: the organiser has run it for eleven years, caps the field at a couple of hundred riders, and sells it as a package with accommodation, buffet meals, a concert on the Saturday night and five feed stations across the two days. The roads stay open to traffic and chip times are informative only. Early June in the Pyrenees can still bring cold, wet high passes, which is why the kit list asks for a light rain jacket and a rear light that stays on all day.

Pacing Strategy

Ride Saturday as the first half of a weekend. The Epic loop starts with 26 km of gradual descent, and its hardest climbing comes after 120 km: three steep ramps between km 122 and 135 take you to the highest point of the weekend at about 1,850 m. Riders who spend on the early climbs around km 30-45 pay for it there, and again on Sunday morning.

On Sunday the legs are the limiting factor, not the course. The first long climb starts almost from the gate and runs to about 1,800 m at km 39; ride it well below Saturday's effort, eat early and save something for the second climb after 67 km, which is steeper.

Training plan for the Back Road Cadí: 12-week build

The organiser estimates around twelve hours of riding for the full 261 km and 4,900 m, split over two days: roughly seven to nine hours on Saturday and four to five on Sunday for a typical amateur. It is steady aerobic work punctuated by long climbs of 4-6 km at 5-7 %, with a few short pitches above 10 %.

The weekend is decided by how well you recover overnight. Build back-to-back long rides - a long Saturday with climbing in the last third, followed by a three to four hour ride on Sunday - and practise eating and drinking on the bike for the whole day, since the feed stations are spread over a long course.

Train climbing seated at a steady power for 20-30 minutes, which is what the long Pyrenean ramps ask for, and make sure your gearing lets you spin the steep ramps late on stage 1. Descending matters as much: most of the height is lost on open, mountainous roads with traffic.

Pack for mountain weather in June: cool mornings in the Cerdanya at around 1,000 m, possible showers on the high sections, and strong sun in between.