Mallorca will once again become the epicentre of international cycling between 29 January and 2 February 2025, with the celebration of the Garden Hotels-Luxcom Challenge Ciclista Mallorca women’s race and the Garden Hotels-Luxcom Challenge Ciclista Mallorca men’s race. The institutional presentation of both events took place today at the Consolat de Mar, the headquarters of the Balearic Government, with the presence of the main authorities of the island, as well as representatives of the sponsors and collaborators. The event was also attended by the majority of the local cyclists who will take part in this new edition, such as Xavier Cañellas (Sabgal-Anicolor); Pau Llaneras, Joan Albert Riera, Joan Gamundí and Álvaro Sagrado (Illes Balears Arabay Cycling); Marina Garau (Spanish National Team) and Yurani Blanco (Human Powered Health).
After last year’s success, with the premiere of the first Garden Hotels-Luxcom Challenge Ciclista Mallorca women’s event, the best cyclists in the international peloton will once again race on the island. Over three days, some of the best teams in the international women’s peloton will kick off the season in Mallorca with the competition for three trophies: Trofeo Marratxí (Saturday 25 January); Trofeo Palma-Castell de Bellver (Sunday 26 January) and Trofeo Binissalem-Port d’Andratx (Monday 27 January).
Live television
Fans will be able to follow the development of the stages, both of the women’s and men’s Challenge, live on television, thanks to the agreement with the institutions and their commitment to the Challenge Ciclista Mallorca as a strategic event in the promotion of tourism on the island. In this way, Eurosport, Teledeporte, MAX and Discovery Plus will offer fans around the world the live broadcast of the last kilometres of each of the eight events. In the case of the women, the last hour and a half will be broadcast from 3pm to 4:30pm, except for the Palma Trophy, which will be from 1pm to 2:30pm.
18 teams
There will be a total of 18 teams on the starting ramp for this edition: 6 UCI World Teams, 11 UCI Continental Teams and the Spanish National Team. Among the riders, the presence of Mallorcan Mavi García stands out, five-time Spanish road champion and third in the 2022 Giro, who will do so as a member of the national team.
The president of the Government, Marga Prohens, was in charge of closing the event. In her speech, she stated that the Women’s Cycling Challenge “is much more than a sporting event” and allows “us to enjoy the talent of these women who are part of the triumph of a generation that has broken the glass ceiling.” “Both events offer the opportunity to show the potential of the Balearic Islands as a unique setting for sporting activities, as demonstrated by the fact that every year, thousands of cycling fans choose our islands to practice their favourite sport, a sport linked to our land,” he added.
Garden Hotels-Luxcom, with cycling
As in previous editions, Garden Hotels-Luxcom will continue to be the main corporate sponsor of the Challenge Ciclista Mallorca, both in the women’s and men’s categories. For ten days, the caravans of both competitions will stay at the Playa Garden Selection Hotel & Spa and Alcúdia Garden Aparthotel hotels of the Garden Group, an agreement that involves more than 3,000 stays, including athletes, technical teams, organisation and national and international media.
“When the set of public institutions supports a test of this entity and Garden Hotels / Luxcom as a tourism company completes this collaboration, we are laying the foundations for the cycling segment to become in the coming seasons one of the most relevant elements of the differentiation of the Mallorca product at a global level, in line with a vision of sustainability and integration with the territory,” said Gabriel Llobera, CEO of Garden Hotels.
Manuel Hernández, director of Unisport Consulting, thanked the commitment of the institutions with the Challenge and also the advantage of having a sponsor like Garden Hotels-Luxcom: “We are once again concentrating the women’s and men’s test in ten days, so Mallorca will be the world epicentre of cycling,” he said.