The penultimate weekend of May saw the 7th edition of the Reverence Hotels’ 6points Mallorca. This 3-day charity cycle ride, superbly supported by Calvia council, visits all the most extreme compass points of the island and the highest and lowest points accessible by road – Puig Major and anywhere by the sea, respectively!
Founded in 2017 by local expats Bryan Visser and Phil Crawford, what initially started with a handful of riders to raise a bit of money for various local charities has grown year on year, with the 2023 entry being the biggest yet at 89 participants, with many in the yachting sector taking part.
Title sponsorship arrived in 2020, in the form of Reverence Hotels of Santa Ponsa. This secured the entirely self-funding event that has, since its inception, been driven by making it the best rider experience possible. And it shows – with superb organisation attracting a bigger field every year, not least due to the inclusivity of the event, and the accommodation of variations in ability and fitness.
With the field divided into two main groups of Muntanas and Vallees, one doing the entire Tramuntana on the first day and the other the lower route, further subdivision in ability means that if you can ride a bike at a decent-ish pace for three days, there is a place on this event for you. For the truly nuts, this year also included an ‘Everesting’ group – which included 8850m of climbing. All the groups had their own support vehicles, manned by over 27 volunteers dishing out refreshments and mechanical support – and mercifully, no first aid!
Lavish meals were enjoyed at each evening’s hotel stopover, and all luggage was transported between the hotels – impeccably organised by Ticket Travel, supporters of the event from the very beginning. The camaraderie that builds within each individual group and the event overall is what makes this ride what it is – everyone becoming a big family by the time they cross the finish line on the final day. The grand finale arrival was beautifully hosted by the new Vino Del Mar restaurant in Port Adriano, the port itself having lent great support in hosting the start and finish for the third year running.
The 2023 ride has so far raised over €50,000 for various locals charities -Asdica, Yachting Gives Back (Shambala Foundation) and SOS Animal- a Calvia based animal rescue centre. Since its first event, 6Points has now raised no less than €210,000 for various charities, with much of this coming from overseas riders, aware of Mallorca’s status as one of the best cycling locations anywhere on the planet.
There are many ways to access road cycling in Mallorca, but none that has focused on the rider experience to anything like the scale of 6Points Challenges. It will unquestionably be a sell out again next year, and deserves to be.
