
It will be no surprise to hear that riding in Corsica last year was an unusual experience given the absence of tourists however, even without a pandemic the island remains an idyllic cycling destination and still largely undiscovered. The expected post Tour de France 2013 cycling boom hasn't really materialised in terms of making Corsica a mainstream destination like the Alps or Majorca. What is true though is that there are more cyclists around and there have been some developments on the island designed at making riding more accessible for all.
The E-bike is a big step forward as it enables more people to get out onto the undulating terrain. Bikes, both road and MTB, are available to rent from the outlets listed on my Information page.
Whislt pro bike racing has dried up BikingMan - the unassisted, ultracycling race series - has arrived. This is an annual 1,000km race which is into it's fourth year. With a time limit of 5 days and 18,000m of climbing it's not for the faint hearted. The 2020 edition was won in a time of just under 56 hours well inside the 120 hours time limit.
If ultracycle racing isn't your thing then there's the newly launched GT20 - La Grande Traversée. It's the cycling equivalent of the world famous hiking route the GR20. 600kms and 6,600m of ascent it departs Bastia, anti clockwise around the Cap and south to Porto. On, traversing the mountains to Corte via the Col Vergio on the breathtaking D84. South over Col Sorba to Ghisoni then up and over Col Verdi to Zicavo, Zonza and on to the finish in Bonifacio.
Finally one or two specific cycling routes are popping up with dedicated waymarkers. The Col de Battaglia in Balagne has some very smart new signs along a couple of different approaches showing gradient and altitude per kilometre if you get a chance to look up!
The E-bike is a big step forward as it enables more people to get out onto the undulating terrain. Bikes, both road and MTB, are available to rent from the outlets listed on my Information page.
Whislt pro bike racing has dried up BikingMan - the unassisted, ultracycling race series - has arrived. This is an annual 1,000km race which is into it's fourth year. With a time limit of 5 days and 18,000m of climbing it's not for the faint hearted. The 2020 edition was won in a time of just under 56 hours well inside the 120 hours time limit.
If ultracycle racing isn't your thing then there's the newly launched GT20 - La Grande Traversée. It's the cycling equivalent of the world famous hiking route the GR20. 600kms and 6,600m of ascent it departs Bastia, anti clockwise around the Cap and south to Porto. On, traversing the mountains to Corte via the Col Vergio on the breathtaking D84. South over Col Sorba to Ghisoni then up and over Col Verdi to Zicavo, Zonza and on to the finish in Bonifacio.
Finally one or two specific cycling routes are popping up with dedicated waymarkers. The Col de Battaglia in Balagne has some very smart new signs along a couple of different approaches showing gradient and altitude per kilometre if you get a chance to look up!