The 2011 edition of the Mallorca 312 sportive attracted an increased entry from around Europe and saw SportActive enter an excellent number of riders. In fact the cyclists taking part in the Decathlon 167 event probably had one of the best team leaders imaginable!

Mallorca 312 continues to grow in strength and stature, excellent organisation and fantastic support for the participants added to the unique routes make this sportive special and challenging. Mallorca is the hub of cycling in the Mediterranean and moving the event to the end of April aligns it to Mallorca's prime cycling time. Spring time in Mallorca is when cycling is at its peak with the roads filled with bikes and the prime cafe's buzzing with atmosphere as the cyclists discuss and analyse the days cycling. SportActive is in the heart of this and with one of Europe's premier sportive now coinciding with this time it offers a fantastic opportunity for cyclists to enjoy the SportActive experience and be part of a challenging and incredible event.

The SportActive entry saw a strong solid group of cyclist's team up for both distances, Sean Kelly, no less, leading the team for the demanding 167km event and Alastair leading the team for the endurance testing 312km event.

The wonderful unique characteristics of major sportive events is that there are no losers and thus no sad faces, just winners and an immense sense of achievement for all the participants.

Our "on the road" team manager, Fiona, took the opportunity to experience firsthand the challenge and emotion of a premier cycling event. She travelled in the first  SportActive team car for the 167km to assist, support  and encourage the cyclists as they progressed through the event. Stephen and his experience was in the second SportActive team car to support and assist the team on the 312km event.

The Teams left the SportActive Cycling Centre in Port d'Alcudia very early on the Saturday morning under quite grey skies with a 'fresh' feel to the day for the 7am start. A hive of activity met them, with the worlds sporting press buzzing around Tour de France winner Oscar Pereiro, who was participating in the event. Sean Kelly's arrival raised the bar of excitement even higher. The SportActive team were then invited, led by Martin to join the front of the start line for the event, which proved excellent for Fiona who was doubling as team photographer.

Promptly at 7am the horn sounded and the event was underway with the mass of cyclists under full police escort filling the road along the coast toward Pollença. The controlled pace allowed everyone to settle and relax before the start of the hills and give the team cars the chance to get ahead to the first water stop at Lluc.

As the first of the cyclists approached under police escort the absolute powerhouse of strength & stamina was palpable and it was impossible not to get caught up in the excitement and emotion! The tough climb to Lluc had the event spread over the mountain as everyone paced themselves toward the first rendez-vous point. Aisling was first of our group to pass followed closely by Alastair and Sean.

Sean used this point to gather his 167 team together, advising Jacinta who was riding excellently that it was best to 'wait' as riding as a team was more efficient, a subtle way of saying 'your assistance is required!'

Philip however was on a mission, probably strong enough to do the 312 event he was motivated to do a best possible performance in the 167 and he pressed on and was very content with his performance and the time he achieved.

Next up to many people's surprise was SportActive's masseur and group leader, Tomeu : he was on a personal objective of the 312 and was displaying a determination and motivation that was inspiring to many. Sean's quick change of jersey caught inexperienced Fiona off guard, to the humour of many she was not expecting this as part of her role with the expectation from Sean that she dry it in the car!!!! " gosh I really am a novice" she commented as she then grabbed Sean's spare blue & white SportActive Jersey having forgotten Flora's advise of taking a track suit, just in case it got cool. As Sean gathered the rest of his team, Johnny, Frankie, Caroline, Rika, Hazel, Andy, Soren and Ronnie, Alastair ensured his 312 team of Phil, Paul, James and Aisling were progressing toward their rendez-vous point at the first food stop. Bringing up the rear at this point where the official 312 sweepers who reminded Fiona of the Death eaters in the Harry Potter novels as, if they are getting close its time to pedal hard!!

Puig Major is the 'big' mountain of the island and the obstacle everyone wants to put behind them, as the team crested it, enjoying 'A Coke and a smile' then disappeared into the tunnel on route to the feed zone at Valdemossa. From here the 312 team grouped for the continuation while the 167 team progressed as a unit under the leadership of Sean Kelly. On best advice from Sean!!! Frankie decided to change events and abandoned his 167 team to chase after a swift moving 312 team. Frankie never caught the team but got together with other participants to share the burden of work and completed the event, a great achievement. The 167 team thundered on to Alaro where the team car and 'manager' lost the group through the small streets for a few minutes and on locating them was amazed at how far they had travelled on the flat. Humorously, in the small narrow streets Fiona ended up directing the two 'local' ambulances with her ten words of Spanish to re locate the group! SportActive to the rescue!

On through the beautiful countryside and the demanding roads around Llosetta and Selva the 167 team rode strong together and with the aid of a couple of stops for some of Jacinta's Jelly babies, (she has done this before you see) they rolled on and were soon, seven hours later, east of Port de Pollenca, and heading back to the finish line. All of the 'Magnificent seven' were looking amazingly well and strong at this stage and were being brilliantly kept as a group and masterfully shielded from the head wind by Sean (who cyclists do a double take when they realize whose presence they're in.) Coming up on seven hours and thirty minutes, the SportActive 167 team of eight past the line, together, virtually, and the sheer look of achievement on each and every one of their faces nearly spurred their team manager Fiona to the nearest lycra shop to aim for a similar high some time in the future…….but then she gathered her thoughts  when she saw Caroline walking very tentatively for about ten minutes after they had 'De Biked'!

An exceptional day and performance by the team and a fantastic achievement for everyone with special thanks to Sean Kelly for making the 167 team such a special and unique experience. Caroline and Rika deserve special mention as newcomers to the sport of cycling, they completed with relative ease the first big challenge of their new sporting career.

Fiona's first experience was reflected by her comment, " I had an unforgettable day and was so appreciative of the opportunity to witness it all first hand, particularly when the 312km team thundered home with Alastair playing the similar role as Sean did, and bringing in his team magnificently enhanced by Tomeu with Aisling, picking up the overall prize for First Lady Home!! RESPECT for team SportActive."

Sometimes it takes the views of an 'outsider' to bring home the achievement we don't always fully recognise we have succeeded in!

As the 312 team reached the end of the mountain range, 140km into the event, they picked up Tomeu, who was doing a incredible performance, surpassing many people's expectations. However, like many things, when you are aware of the preparation, dedication and discipline that went into training, it's a very pleasant surprise to see a plan reach its expected objective.

A quick stop in Calvia for food and liquid and the 312 team progressed on in unison toward Palma city where Tomeu's local knowledge got us efficiently across the busy streets without hindrance. The endurance toughness required for the 312km event was becoming evident as the team approached the 200km mark and it was clear that this section of the route would entail riding into 150km of quite strong head wind on the most exposed part of the route from Palma to Ses Selinas and on to Porto Cristo. The team stayed as a good working unit, picking up several other riders to boost the numbers in the group which was becoming very international in its characteristic.

Quick stops again, time being the limiting factor with the head wind causing constant re-evaluation of the ride schedule, the 312 team was showing the fatigue signs of a hard day in the saddle but was progressing at an excellent pace.

The final and very quick liquid stop in Arta signalled the 'start' of the final and most familiar section of the route for the SportActive 312 team. With Phil indicating a possible change in wind direction the team found a new lease of life and an energy rush that only comes when you know the end is near, of course, in endurance events, the 'near to the end' is when you're 40km away from the line! The team powered home at an exceptional pace and it was an incredible positive for everyone's training and preparation that such a strong fast pace could be maintained at the end of a hard 312km event. Although everyone was into their reserves and even discovering something about themselves and their abilities, the ambiance and camaraderie over the last kilometres was a credit to the 312 team who finished tired but in excellent form. Congratulations to Phil, James, Paul and Aisling on completing a tough Mallorca 312. Huge respect for Tomeu who, through his performance, has become infamous within Mallorca's cycling community.

The SportActive teams performed excellently and it was credit to everyone who took part, at the presentation for the event that Saturday evening the cyclists had a great social meal with all the other participants, organisers and importantly helpers ;  awards were given for various categories and to the delight of the SportActive team it was a special moment when Tour de France winner Oscar Pereiro presented Aisling with her award for the first female to finish in the 312km event, for the second consecutive year.

Once again SportActive would like to thank all those cyclists who became part of the SportActive experience and to the Mallorca 312 organisation for making us especially welcome and inclusive of their event.

We at SportActive enjoyed the experience and hope to see 'The Team' reunited at future events and look forward to Mallorca 312 in 2012.

By Alastair Irvine. Thank you for the contribution to this article by Fiona Mac Curtain       Click here to see more pictures