Mallorca 312 - 167 km

By Ciaran Conlon.

Four cyclists Donal Kieran, Adrian Cleary, Anthony Cravan and Ciaran Conlon from the leisure group set off on Saturday 30th April, to complete the 167 km route of the Mallorca 312. This started and ended in Playa de Muro. Over 4500 cyclists took part in the event with most doing the 167 Km route while others completed the 232k and the elite 312 route all on closed roads. 
This started at 7am and conditions at this were damp and overcast. The first 20 Km was a relatively flat road into Pollensa before we headed for the mountains. We climbed approx 2600 with the largest climb Puig Major at 890m. This was followed by a 15km descent with plenty of hair pin bends.

Great roads helped make this an enjoyable and scenic cycle. The rapid descents were steep in areas and mist, tunnels and changeable weather making it more challenging. 
There were plenty of water and food stops. A well marshalled event but we did come across numerous accidents, some serious. 

It was a speedy home run back through Pollensa, Alcudia into Playa de Muro crossing the finishing line together with a cycling time of 7:04hrs cheered on by other members of the club. 
A big thank you to Francis Dollard for all his training, advice and encouragement. 

Over 111 Irish cyclists participated in this event last year. This number would have been exceed this year. Info on this event can be found at www.mallorca312.com Next year’s event is on Sat April 29th 2017. Registration for this event fills up very quickly once it has opened. A waiting list is formed but there is no guarantee you will get a place. 

We would all highly recommend this event for those in the leisure group

Picture credit: Jan Conlon.