Coll de Femenia
Femenia is your gateway to the mountains!
If Cap de Formentor is your introduction to the Tramuntana mountains, then Coll de Femenia is the gateway. A short ride North East from Alcudia brings you around Pollenca Old Town and onto the MA10. This beautiful road will lead you all the way down to Andratx on the Western coast, but for the purposes of this route it will see you up Femenia, past Lluc and drop you off at the top of Sa Batalla. So clip in, head towards the sun, and if you are feeling spicy go for the KOM!
What to expect
The first 5km are identical the start of the Cap Formentor route, but that's where the similarities end. An early detour from Pollenca bay takes the backroads to the old town, and a long straight section of the MA10 soon winds you up to Coll de Femenia. By the time you reach the top you'll have most of the days climbing done, so a regroup at infamous Petrol station cafe will be just what the coach ordered. From there it's a fast and fun descent down Sa Batalla into Caimari, before riding the rolling flats back to Pollenca Old Town. The winds normally come from East, so expect the sun on your back and wind on your face as you cruise back to the Clubhouse in Alcudia.
75km
Distance
Mountain
Terrain
930m
Ascent
Highlights
The Tramuntana is a formidable and exciting mountain range to navigate, but coming from Alcudia we're lucky enough to have the MA10 road to take us right form the North East to the far South West. The Femenia route is the perfect climbing sandwich - a slow & steady climb to start, a fast & fun winding descent to finish, and a solid cafe stop in the middle. It's the dream. Add in some rolling flats to get home, a see breeze, and a cheeky spot of lunch in Pollenca Old Town... and you've got a pretty fantastic day in the saddle. But make the most of the pleasantries today, as once you start to venture further west the climbs get longer and noticeably harder!
Back road to Pollenca
This is where the magic happens, and early start or sunset finish in ether direction will give you amazing sunsets against palm tree silhouettes as you cruise from Pollenca bay to Pollenca Old Town.
Coll de Femenia
The Coll de Femenia itself is a Category 2 Climb, giving you a comfortable average of 5.5% incline over 7.5km of very smooth tarmac. Favourite the Femenia Strava segment here & you'll be following in the footsteps of some absolute legends, like Ben Zwiehoff, Harry Sweeny and Mavi Garcia.
The first 2 hairpins at 1km & 1.8km are the steepest sections (12% & 13.5% turns), so make sure you hit these hard & to not lose any speed. Then hold it steady up til 3km where there is another small (but straight) 13% kicker.
But the key to smashing your mates PBs lies in the small flats at 4.5km & 6.5km. Most people insticitvely ease off on lower gradients, so show 'em who's boss by pushing harder than ever! Give it 80% at the first & 90% at the second - then it's full gas to the finish whoop whoop!!! Just don't stop until you've hit the sign!
Views over Pollenca bay
Half way up the 7.5km of Femenia, make sure you lookback over your shoulder to an amazing view over the valley and towards the bay in the background.. You'll be able to see the whole section of the MA10 that you've just ridden from Pollenca Old Town, and the 14th century Santari de la Mare sat on top of the loaf mountain.
First glimpse of Puig Major
Somehwat of a teaser as to what's to come, today you can get your first glimpse of the radar dome on the top of Puig Major. Once you've climbed to the top of Femenia (you'll see the sign on the right, don't worry!) you'll have 5km's of rolling roads along the top. Keep your eyes peeled for the dome on your right, because Sacalobra falls down the right hand side, and Soller just passed it on the left.
Petrol Station 'Repsol' Cafe
This is another cafe great cafe that everyone knows. It's not going to win an award for the best views, menu, or even decor... But it does have exactly what you need, and in exactly the right place! Massive fridges filled with cold drinks, snacks, water, locally produced Mega Raw Bars, cake and coffee - all served up with indoor and outdoor seating. In the winter they even have a fire going in the covered area. Everyone stops here, and we mean everyone!
Descending Sa Batalla
Sa Batalla is right in the sweet spot for descending - fast and fun, but nothing too crazy and not too long. It starts with some gentle rolling corners before feeding you into a selection of short switch-backs. The corners are cambered, the views over the valley are great, and re-assuringly there are very good road markings and barriers all around.
Half way down you'll get a little break as you wrap around and out of the valley, then the last few hairpins are long and fast... So put your foot down as you power into Caimari (but keep your eyes out for rumble strips on the road as you head into the village). If you're stopping at Sa Ruta Verda, you'll spot them on the left hand side at the junction.
Femenia doesn't have the winding go-kart loops of Sacalobra, but it does give you the infinity pool of coll photo's and the epic descent of Batalla. If you're going to get 2 team photos on this route, these are the ones you need!
Best photo spots
➊ Femenia is one of these climbs where the peak really is 'the peak'. There's a reasonable incline right up to the sign, and then it immediately switches to a speedy downhill descent. This perfect positioning on the rounded top of the climb can give you a great photo with the ground rolling away out-of-site. Get the squad and the sign in there too, and you'll have a great addition to the Strava album.
➋ The second-to-last corner of Sa Batalla descent has a small lay by where you can stop, and from there you can see the switchbacks and steep incline of the climbing road above. Plonk yourself on the apex and get your photographer buddy to crouch down low for an epic shot.
Coffee Stop
Every one knows and stops at the petrol station cafe at the top of Sa Batalla, so here we're going to flag the equally famous Sa Ruta Verda in Caimari. This staple of the Mallorcan cycling community has been led by Lennart since 2015, but as of 2023 new management Emma & Javier have picked up the reigns!
Check out their instagram here for the latest, they'll be open again from March 2024!
Tips & advice
Fememia is another pretty straight forward route, but we like to make sure you are super comfortably with the landscape and well equiped to have a fantastic day on the bike. So these little nuggets should help to keep you on top of your game as you venture into the mountains.
#1: Are 'Port de Pollenca' & 'Pollenca' the same place?
Nope these are two different towns. You'll see the same arrangement with other towns including Alcudia, where the 'old towns' tend to be inland, and the 'ports' are the newer settlements built on the coast.
#2: The flats after Sa Batalla can get HOT ...
Whilst January to May is almost perfect cycling weather, once you edge into June and July things can get a little spicy. Imagine a real world version of Watopia desert flats! If you're riding this route on a hot afternoon please make sure you have plenty of water before you hit the long flats back to Pollenca (from the bottom of Sa Batella). It's only 20km, but with peak heat it can be very easy to overheat!
#3: Use the bathrooms at Petrol Station / Repsol Cafe
Good bathrooms can be hard to find, so let us save you some work and direct you to this one. It must have been refurbed recently as the black and white marble floors, mirrors and cubicles are absolutely spotless.
#4: Petrol Station / Repsol Cafe have a tool bench
Yup you read it here first. There is a bike mechanics tool bench at the front of the Petrol Station / Repsol cafe! IIt's just to the left of the front door, right underneath a window. To be honest we can barely believe it took us 20 or so visits before we spotted it, but it's there and it has some of the handy tools you definitely would not have in your saddle back (like a shimano cassette tool and chain whip).
#5: You have several solid option for lunch
The petrol station is. agreat spot, but just down Sa Batalla into Caimari, and later in Polllenca Old Town there are some great options for a longer sit down and something to eat:
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Sa Ruta Verda, Caimari:
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Website | Instagram | Facebook | Google Maps
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A long standing 'feed zone & speak easy' on the Mallorcan cycling map, Sa Ruta Verda took a hiatus through 2023 but we're excited to see it re-opening again in March 2024!
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Es Parc, Selva:
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Pollenca Main Square:
Community
Feedback
We are constantly re-riding these routes, testing the side roads and trying to improve our self service guides. But we tend to find the best (funniest) feedback comes form the community! To that end here are some corkers from fellow enthusiasts have have cycled the route:
Ricc from Watford
“I saved a goat there (Femenia) once!"
Mike from Wales
"Sa Rutaverda is such a great place to stop, and right at the bottom of Sa Battalla. You'll have to get down there when they open again in the spring!"
Chap from Leeds
“Descending Sa Batalla at sunset is THE SH!ZZ!”
Sarah from Scotland
“We nearly ran out of water on the way back, it was SO hot. Thank god for coke & pamboli at Pollenca Old Town!... YESS!”
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