Mount Teide

Situated 200 miles off the west coast of Africa on the Island of Tenerife, this climb has significance to cyclists as an ideal winter training destination given the warm climate all year round. In fact, it’s only made one appearance in a Grand Tour, the Vuelta Espana back in the late ’80s but has certainly paved the way for many Tour de France victories as this is the place where Team Sky have based all the altitude training camps from.

From an aerial view, you can see why Mt Teide is Tenerife, as there’s virtually no flat road around this vast volcano and island. From its base, it’s a gruelling but steady 50 km climb which averages 4.5% and never really goes above 7% gradient, perfect for riding threshold. The very top of the volcanic plug is actually 3718m above sea level but the road running around the crater and to the Parador hotel where pro teams base themselves tops out at 2100 m. This mountain has paved the way for victories in the Tour for Bradley Wiggins, Froome and Thomas. If you are hoping to book a place at the Parador Hotel, you will probably be disappointed as it’s booked up for years in advance and is the only hotel in the National Park.

Mount Teide (El Médano): 2325 m
Length of ascent: 51 km
Meters in height: 2547 m
Ascent (average): 4.6%
Ascent (max): 11%
Strava Segment: strava.com
Strava KOM: 2:26:26 h
Strava QOM: 3:17:34 h