The Capitals is an unsupported ultracycling, gravel and adventure event which connects the four Catalan capitals of Barcelona, Tarragona, Lleida and Girona. The route is 840km (520 miles) in length and participants will climb an impressive 14,000m. The event kicks off on July 19th and anyone taking part has 134 hours (or 5 days and 14 hours) to complete it. Does that sound appealing? In which case, read on.
“Adventure, unsupported, nature and cycling are the factors that will accompany you throughout the tour.” That’s how the organisers of the 2026 version of The Capitals describe their event. The route is 70% off-road/30% on-road and includes “Some sections of track in very good condition, asphalt, concrete… But there will also be some short sections with more stone or grass.” The organisers recommend that participants use tyres with a “minimum of 40 of width, but suggesting bigger ones if you want to increase the comfort.” They go on to say that “Following the PedAlma philosophy, any type of bike can be used, as long as it does not have the help of an external assistance mechanism such as e-bikes.”
Anyone signing up to take part will receive the following as part of the entry fee:
- Exclusive track of the route
- Rider’s guide with all the information about the event
- GPS tracking and online monitoring
- Exclusive Telegram private group with participants and organisation
- Personal accident insurance
- Route bag with nutrition pack by Finisher
- Cap/Bib by Gsport
- Luggage storage service in Barcelona (max. 15Kg).
- Free Media Pack of photos and video for all participants
- Checkpoint card
- Finisher bag with a t-shirt by Gsport
- Commemorative gift at the end of the tour
- Closing dinner to share the experience
Participants in the event need to have their brevet card stamped at five Checkpoints along the route (Tarragona, Lleida, Baga, Girona and Barcelona). The organisers have provided a sample itinerary for anyone wishing to ride the event in audax style:
- DAY 1: Barcelona – La Selva del Camp 166km +1980m
- DAY 2: La Selva del Camp – Ponts 166km +2050m
- DAY 3: Ponts – Bagà 154km +4070m
- DAY 4: Bagà – Camprodon 117km +4490m
- DAY 5: Camprodon – Barcelona 227km +2000m
The event costs €310 per person if you sign up as a pair or €320 if you enter as a solo rider. You can find all the details and sign up at the event website.
Event image gallery
Very often, when we are putting together a news story about a forthcoming event, we are provided with a small selection of images and these are frequently low-resolution or the wrong ratio for web use or just not very good! The Capitals, on the other hand, have a gallery of literally hundreds of spellbinding images. We’ve cherry-picked some favourites to showcase here. If these don’t make you want to immediately sign up, then we’re not sure what will……