Coll de Rates from Parcent

Few roads so modest in altitude have achieved international fame like the Coll de Rates. At barely 626 metres above sea level, this mountain pass in the Marina Alta has become a place of pilgrimage for professional cyclists and motorcyclists from northern Europe, who every winter head down to Calpe, Dénia and Jávea seeking the Mediterranean sun and this perfect tarmac to prepare for the season. World Tour teams like Movistar, Jumbo and Ineos use it for their pre-season training, and on weekends it is common to spot German, Dutch and Belgian number plates on the valley's café terraces.

The climb starts in Parcent, a small village in the Vall de Pop at 290 metres, and it is barely 6.5 km to the summit. But in those 6.5 km the engineer who designed it allowed himself the luxury of fitting in more than forty bends with a mathematically regular layout: an average gradient of 5%, constant radii, intelligent cambers and tarmac that the Generalitat resurfaces with unusual frequency. The result is a road that practically rides itself, perfect for linking throttle and footpegs without surprises, where a well-set-up bike can enter and exit each corner at the exact same point.

The scenery is no less impressive. The Vall de Pop, nestled between the Carrascal and Migdia mountain ranges, was for centuries Moorish territory until the expulsion of 1609, which emptied entire villages overnight. The Mallorcan settlers who arrived afterwards brought their language and the cultivation of muscat grapes, which are still sun-dried today in the riu-raus — the open porches typical of Jalón, Llíber and Alcalalí — to produce the famous Dénia raisins, exported as far as England in the 19th century. The observant visitor will spot these riu-raus scattered throughout the valley on the way up from the coast.

At the summit awaits the Restaurante Coll de Rates, an institution for European motorcycling. It was opened in the 1970s by a Belgian couple who fell in love with the pass, and since then its walls have filled up with pennants, signed photos and cycling jerseys. The menu is simple — omelettes, sandwiches, strong coffee — but the real dish of the day is the conversation in five languages that flows across the terrace, with views of the Sierra de Bernia and, on clear days, the Peñón de Ifach jutting out above the sea.

A trick few tourists know: the north face of the pass, descending towards Castell de Castells along the CV-720, is even more spectacular than the climb from Parcent. Tighter bends, less traffic, views over an almost untouched inland valley, and the possibility of linking up with the Vall d'Ebo route without touching the coast again. If you go on a winter Sunday, set off early: from eleven onwards the main climb fills up with cycling pelotons and it pays to ride with patience. On weekdays, however, the pass can be literally all yours.

One last note for the historically curious: before it became a postcard road, this was a trade route between the agricultural interior and the fishing ports on the coast. Muleteers carried salted fish and raisins up to the valley villages and brought back wine, olive oil and, in times of hardship, contraband. The cobbled paths still visible alongside the tarmac in some stretches are traces of that activity. The Coll de Rates, before it was legendary, was simply what connects the mountains to the sea — and that, thinks the rider who stops halfway up to take a photo, is still the best thing about the pass.