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The Gran Fondo Lloret Costa Brava returns with a record number of participants

Lloret de Mar will host a new edition of the Gran Fondo Lloret Costa Brava cycle touring event on Sunday 24 April. The event will once again offer two circular routes and two distances to suit different levels of difficulty: a 90 km distance, with a 1,400-metre climb and four mountain passes, which will start and return to Lloret via Llagostera, Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Tossa, returning along the area’s main road; and the Gran Fondo of 160 km, with a 2,700-metre climb and a route with a total of 2,700 metres of elevation gain and four mountain passes.700 metres of elevation gain and a much more demanding route with 7 mountain passes through the towns of Caldes de Malavella, Girona, La Bisbal de Empordà, Calonge, Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Tossa, returning to Lloret de Mar along the coast.

The Gran Fondo Lloret Costa Brava closed its registration last week with 1,200 participants, exhausting all the bibs available. In terms of the origin of the cyclists taking part, 86% are Spanish (95% of them from Catalonia), followed by participants from countries such as France, Andorra, Portugal, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and Brazil. In the words of the manager of Lloret Turisme, Elizabeth Keegan, “The Gran Fondo Lloret Costa Brava is an unbeatable showcase for our potential as a cycle tourism destination, both because of the setting with spectacular stretches such as the one from Lloret de Mar to Sant Feliu and because of the specialisation of the private sector with services adapted to the needs of these athletes”. In terms of overnight stays, 330 participants in the event (apart from those accompanying them) will spend the night in Lloret de Mar.

Lloret de Mar has been certified as a Sports Tourism Destination since 2006 and has fourteen hotels specialising in cycle tourism. Every year, especially during the first quarter of the year, it welcomes more than 3,000 cyclists, both amateurs and professionals, who choose the destination for their sporting holidays.

The Gran Fondo Lloret Costa Brava sporting event brings to a close two weeks in which Lloret de Mar has been at full sporting capacity. More than 4,300 athletes and 7,800 accompanying persons stayed overnight at the destination over the last few days, and large-scale sporting events such as the MIC football tournament, the Sant Jaume football tournament, the Globasket basketball tournament and the Lloret Cup handball tournament were held.

Women’s cycling week in Lloret de Mar: training camps of the Zaaf and Andy Schleck women’s teams

Lloret de Mar has become a centre of attraction for low and mid-season international cycling and triathlon training camps. The stabilization of the pandemic has led to a rapid recovery of sports tourism bookings. Over the last few days, two of the destination’s certified sports tourism establishments, Evenia and Samba Hotels, have welcomed triathletes and cyclists from clubs in France, Belgium, Poland and other parts of Spain for training camps of approximately one week.

Two elite women’s cycling teams have held training camps in Lloret de Mar this week: the Zaaf Team, a new continental team comprising nine cyclists from five different countries (including the Colombian Erika Botero), and the Luxembourg-based Andy Schleck – CP NVST – Immo Losch continental team, run by Andy Schleck, winner of the 2010 Tour de France, comprising 21 riders from 11 different countries. Lloret has also welcomed three French triathlon teams (Triathlon Club Châteauroux, Metz Triathlon, Best Triathlon), while a Polish cycling team and another triathlon club are scheduled to arrive next week. As Elizabeth Keegan, Director of Lloret Turisme (the destination’s tourism promotion body), points out, “The excellent road transport connections from France, a specialized accommodation offering, first-class sports facilities such as the Olympic-size swimming pool and highly suitable local roads for the training sessions of professional cyclists, make Lloret de Mar a particularly attractive destination for holding cycling and triathlon training camps.”

In 2019, Lloret de Mar was certified as a triathlon destination by the Catalan Tourist Board, making it the Catalan destination with the largest number of certified sports: football, athletics, cycling, swimming, team sports and triathlon.

*Photos: courtesy of Zaaf Women Cycling Team.

Lloret de Mar and the Costa Brava are to host the inaugural World Sports Tourism Congress

20 September 2021 Meetings and congresses, Sports tourism 

The programme of talks, round-table discussions and other activities of the inaugural World Sports Tourism Congress was presented today in Lloret de Mar and Barcelona. The event is being organized by the Catalan Tourist Board (Government of Catalonia) and the World Tourism Organization, with the collaboration of the Costa Brava – Girona Tourist Board (Girona Provincial Council), and Lloret de Mar Town Council, through its tourism promotion body Lloret Turisme.

The congress will take place on 25 and 26 November at the Olympic Conference Centre in Lloret de Mar, on the Costa Brava, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The presentation was attended by Roger Torrent, Minister for Business and Employment of the Government of Catalonia; Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization; Jaume Dulsat, Mayor of Lloret de Mar; and Jordi Masquef, Second Vice-President of the Costa Brava – Girona Tourist Board. They were accompanied by Marta Domènech, Director-General for Tourism of the Catalan Ministry of Business and Employment; and Narcís Ferrer, Director of the Catalan Tourist Board, among others.

Roger Torrent, Minister for Business and Employment of the Government of Catalonia, remarked that “The inaugural World Sports Tourism Congress, which is to be held in our country, will be an extremely important event, since it will serve as a platform for realizing all the potential of sport to foster responsible and sustainable sports tourism.” Mr Torrent added that the hosting of the congress was “a sign” of the reactivation and recovery of the country’s economy and tourism sector.

Meanwhile, Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, considered that the congress would be a major global event in which the focus should be on sustainability and innovation in sport.

Jaume Dulsat, Mayor of Lloret de Mar and First Vice-President of the Costa Brava – Girona Tourist Board, said that the event was “An opportunity for debate and for setting trends in this sector, but above all a chance for everyone involved in the congress to see the outdoor sports facilities, setting and services available in Lloret de Mar.”

Jordi Masquef, Second Vice-President of the Costa Brava – Girona Tourist Board and Councillor for Sport of Girona Provincial Council, considered that “The World Tourism Organization and the Catalan Tourist Board are showing their commitment to the Girona area and Lloret de Mar for three main reasons: first of all, due to the position of leadership of the local tourism sector; secondly, due to the superb facilities in the area; and, thirdly, because the area has a proven track record in the world of sport.” “We’re delighted to be hosting this inaugural World Sports Tourism Congress,” he added.

Lloret de Mar has held the Sports Tourism Destination seal of the Catalan Tourist Board since 2006 in the disciplines of football, athletics, swimming, group sports and triathlon. In 2019, it welcomed more than 60,000 sportspeople and companions, hosting a total of 446 sports events and competitions.

The congress programme includes 62 speakers and more than 400 participants

The congress will address several issues, such as the challenges posed for the sector by the COVID-19 pandemic, trends in sport and physical activity, innovation in the development of sports tourism or mass attendance at sports events, along with issues related to the environment, or diversity and inclusion in the world of sport.

The programme will also focus on other aspects, such as public-private strategies in governance matters, the digital transformation of the sector, e-sports (electronic sports), digital marketing, communication and commercialization. Additionally, the participants will have the chance to take part in various sports activities, attend academic talks or go on technical visits. Networking spaces will also be set up in order harness the synergies generated by the congress.

The congress will have 62 speakers from a wide variety of countries, such as the USA, Canada, France, Wales, Northern Ireland or Croatia. Several sports and tourism personalities have already confirmed their attendance, including Petra Stusek, President and CEO of European Cities Marketing; Kattia Juarez Dubón, of the International Motorcycling Federation; the Olympic gold medallist Edwin Moses; or Marco Mazzi, Vice-President of the International Sports Travel Agencies Association. Meanwhile, more than 400 professionals of the sector are expected to attend, either physically or virtually. The main novelty of the congress is the telepresence of several speakers through hologram technology.

Those interested in attending the event must register at the following link: https://worldsportstourismcongress.org/. 

The congress will be held in hybrid format, giving delegates the option to participate both physically and virtually. The goal of this format is to strengthen the relationship between sports tourism and sustainable and inclusive development, diversification, differentiation and the progressive reduction in the seasonal nature of tourism. The Costa Brava – Girona Tourist Board and Lloret de Mar Town Council are collaborating in the organization of the congress.

Several sports stars, such as Miguel Indurain and Nani Roma, confirm their presence at the Lloret Cycling Weekend

The programme of the Lloret Cycling Weekend, to be held in Lloret de Mar from 27 to 29 April, has been unveiled with the confirmed presence of sports stars such as Miguel Indurain and Nani Roma.

The two stars, along with other active and retired elite sportspeople such as the triathlete Marcel Zamora, the skier and mountain biker Clàudia Galícia, the long-distance rally co-pilot Alex Haro, the former professional cyclist Kiko Garcia, the long-distance rally driver Rosa Romero, and the former professional cyclist Juan Carlos Reina, will share experiences, rides and talks with the event participants over the course of the weekend.

The Lloret Cycling Weekend will get underway in the evening of Friday 27 April with a welcome dinner featuring a round table discussion in which the invited sportspeople will share their experiences and expertise with the event participants.

The “ride with friends” activity on Saturday morning is designed to offer participants the chance to check out the terrain in preparation for Sunday’s Gran Fondo Lloret Costa Brava race, accompanied by the sports professionals. A sports clinic will be held in the afternoon, comprising three expert talks: one on physiology, given by Dr Piero Galilea, physician of the Physiology and Functional Evaluation Department of the High Performance Centre of Sant Cugat; one on nutrition, given by Dr Saioa Segura, dietician and nutritionist of the Department of Nutrition and Physiology of the High Performance Centre of Sant Cugat; and one on specific physical preparation for cycling, given by the strength and conditioning coach and Instagramer Isabel del Barrio (@onmytrainingshoes). The pasta party organised for Saturday evening is a great way for participants to share their thoughts, rounding off a special cycling day for which only 150 places have been made available.

The Gran Fondo Lloret Costa Brava race will take place on Sunday morning. This cycle touring event consists of two circular routes and two distances, which means it’s suitable for all cyclists: a 91-km middle-distance race, that starts and ends in Lloret, passing through Llagostera, Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Tossa; and a 162-km long-distance race that passes through Caldes de Malavella, Girona, La Bisbal d’Empordà, Calonge, Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Tossa, before heading back to Lloret.

The full programme of the Lloret Cycling Weekend is available on the www.lloretcycling.com website. Those interested in taking part in the event can purchase special packages that include accommodation in three or four-star hotels, attendance at the sports clinic and participation in the Gran Fondo Lloret Costa Brava event.

As Elizabeth Keegan, Director of Lloret Turisme, explained, “The goal of this event is to position Lloret de Mar as one of the leading cycle touring destinations in the area. We believe that giving a small group of participants the chance to meet and spend a couple of days in the company of sports starts such as Miguel Indurain and Nani Roma is an added value that complements the event’s expert talks and the demanding Gran Fondo race, which takes riders through spectacular landscapes.”

Lloret de Mar currently boasts 14 accommodation establishments specialised in cycling, along with six recommended road cycling routes and six mountain biking routes, which have been uploaded to Wikiloc and Strava. Printed maps are also available at the town’s tourist offices and can be downloaded at www.lloretcycling.com

 

 

Lloret de Mar unveils Lloret Cycling, the destination’s cycling project, featuring 12 routes

The Municipal Library was the chosen venue this morning for the presentation of Lloret’s newly structured cycling product, designed over the first half of the year with the goal of promoting this sports product, in line with the 2017 action plan of Lloret Turisme.

The project, of great strategical importance to the destination, has been carried out in partnership with Extrem Team, a consulting company specialising in active and sports tourism, and with the support of Selva County Council and the Inverse sports brand. Specific materials have been produced in order to inform tour operators and end customers of everything the destination has to offer cyclists.

According to Jaume Dulsat, Mayor of Lloret de Mar, “Cycling is a strategic product for Lloret de Mar that helps us to reduce the seasonal nature of tourism, since this activity is mainly concentrated between November and June. Thanks to this structuring process we know we have a good product that will serve to position our city as a hub for cyclists in which to stay and from which to complete routes throughout the area.”

A total of six road cycling and six mountain biking routes have been defined with the goal of offering options with low traffic density and which incorporate elements of natural and heritage interest. Furthermore, two maps in five languages have been created for each discipline with technical information on the 12 routes. The maps have been uploaded to the Wikiloc and Strava apps, both popular with cyclists. The Lloret Cycling user club has also been created on Strava. A dedicated website has been launched (cycling.lloretdemar.org) that contains all the cycling services and products offered by both public and private organisations in Lloret de Mar.

Promotion of the new cycling product will begin at the Sea Otter Europe Fair, taking place in Girona from 2 to 4 June, where Lloret Turisme will have its own stand. In relation to this event, Lloret de Mar will be hosting a workshop next Saturday organised by the Costa Brava Tourist Board, which will be attended by 15 international tour operators and ten establishments from Lloret and the surrounding area. This year, Lloret Turisme has already been present at the Fahrrad & Erlebnis-Reisen cycling fair in Stuttgart and will be at the Eurobike Show in Friedrichshafen (Germany) and at the Unibike Show in Madrid in August and September.

As Elizabeth Keegan, Director of Lloret Turisme, explained, “After all this work, we’ve defined five reasons to train in Lloret that put us in a stronger position than other destinations: an unbeatable climate, a great atmosphere for cyclists in the area, a wide variety of roads and tracks to train on, 14 hotels specialised in cycle tourism and the fact that Lloret offers services of great value to cyclists, such as technical services and a wide range of eating options.”

Lloret de Mar has been a certified Sports Tourism Destination since 2006 and boasts 14 hotels specialised in cycling tourism, 12 of which are certified by the Catalan Tourist Board. More than 3,000 amateur and professional cyclists choose the destination every year for their sport stays.