My times don’t really compare as I had a nightmare on the new course. Mentally I found the new one more difficult towards the end.
Previously once you were over Mirador the majority of the climbing was done and you felt you were heading home whereas now you now drop down the 10km to the dual carriageway and then go back towards Teguise again which involves more climbing. You then have to do an out and back section which is mentally tough as you are descending to a turnaround knowing you’ve got to go straight back up again.
It didn’t help that the wind was a tad stronger two years ago too, particularly the side winds on the quick new descent out of Teguise, very sketchy.
i’m pretty much in accord with Symes. My bike time was 45mins longer despite being better trained for the race with the new course. Symes and I raced the same years, so same issues with more wind on 2nd attempt though.
It’s never going to be a fast course. I’ve only done the old course which was tough enough. New course looks harder especially mentally as described above.
New course slower for me, going up the donkey track seemed to set the pace, there are 2 out and backs one quite short only a mile or so but then Later in the ride is the longer one. Like Saracen says give me the full experience.
I think that is the route from 2019 …1 short out and back then another towards the back end of the course.
First one is shortish, second one is OK out downhill but a slog back up. It’s about 5k each way?
I might be wrong felt like 5 out 15 back!
Still an iconic course, loop out to the coast is nuts, I rode down as the pro field was coming back up, and as I finished the loop I was coming up as the back end of the field was coming down!
Mirador is the real star of the show, that’s where all of the best pictures come from, small stone wall with the view out to sea from high up, its a long climb but is a pleasure to ride. Long fast descent to follow. Thought it was raining until I realised the Spanish lad about 30m in front was taking a comfort break on the way down!
Starting to realise I am one boring wazzock…no wonder I have no friends
Not sure why, everything else seems the same, and so all that seems to have done is make the course long?
Anyway, the bike course map above seems to retain the Tesiguite small out and back, cut the Famara one entirely, so you’re now going nowhere near the north of the island, and you now have a new out and back towards Mancha Blanca. Can’t remember what the road is like up there, so potentially not the same descent towards to Famara knowing you have to come back up?
Yeah, it looks like they’ve taken out the Famara out-and-back and replaced it with one through the “fake Fire Mountains” towards the end. That’ll be flatter than the Famara version, but still guaranteed to be a howling headwind when you’re heading north.
