Themed route · start & finish Can Pastilla
Sineu – Algaida
- Moderate
- 71 km
- 460 m
- ≈ 2½–3 h
Map and elevation profile
Move along the elevation profile to see where you are on the map.
Food & coffee stops
Tried-and-tested places where cyclists like to stop for coffee, food or water.
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Café 36 kmSa Mola 13 Sineu
Speciality-coffee cycling café in a restored old mill near Sineu station, about 600 m off the route at km 36: flat whites, focaccia sandwiches, homemade cakes, bike racks and a Ryzon kit showroom. Open Wednesday to Sunday 8:30–14:30, closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
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Restaurant 52 kmCal Dimoni Algaida
Family-run wood-fired grill restaurant 250 m off the route on Carrer de s'Estació at km 52: grilled sobrassada, lamb chops, suckling pig, arròs brut. Opens at 9:00, closed on Wednesdays – so on market day eat at Hostal d'Algaida or at Es 4 Vents on the old road (closed Tuesdays, lunch from 12:30). Book at weekends.
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Café 52 kmHostal d'Algaida Algaida
Right on the route at km 52 on the old Manacor road, open since 1961: coffee with an ensaïmada or pa amb oli in the morning, Mallorcan dishes such as tumbet and arròs brut at lunch. Open daily from 8:00. It fills up at weekends and on public holidays, so book for lunch.
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Sineu–Algaida: Wednesday market ride with sobrassada for lunch
Route summary:
A flat ride for cyclists who love good food. Do it on a Wednesday: that is when Sineu holds Mallorca's oldest market, founded by royal privilege in 1306 and still the island's only weekly market with live animals. You get there after 35 km, most of them on the quiet Carretera vella de Sineu across the Pla. The way back loops through the village of Lloret de Vistalegre to the roadside inns of Algaida on the old Manacor road. 71 km, about 460 m of climbing, all on asphalt: count on 3 hours in the saddle and 5 to 6 with market and lunch. Coffee at Sa Mola 13 in Sineu, lunch at Hostal d'Algaida or Cal Dimoni at km 52.
Cycling route summary:
Km 0–11: from the shop you take the Ma-19A and the Ma-5013 towards Sant Jordi, then the old Manacor road and Camí de Cal Correu. At km 11 you join the Ma-3011, the Carretera vella de Sineu: 24 km of farmland with only the hamlets of Puntiró and Ruberts along the way. Just past Puntiró (km 16) comes the day's only real climb, about 2.5 km up to 140 m with one kilometre near 6%. From km 29 a 3 km drag lifts you to 185 m, then you roll down into Sineu (km 35). Traffic is light, but cars are fast and there is no shoulder, so ride single file. On the open plain the wind sets your speed.
On market day, walk the bike through the old centre. The Ma-3130 leads to Lloret de Vistalegre (km 40), then the quiet Ma-3231, Ma-3200 and Ma-3131 roll south and climb gently over the last 6 km to Algaida (km 53, 196 m, the high point). You never touch the Ma-15 dual carriageway. Home runs along narrow Camí de Cas Brau and asphalt farm lanes. From km 60 a 3.5 km descent at about 3% drops you onto the Pla de Sant Jordi, and the final 5 km retrace the outward roads.
Tourist summary:
Sineu was the country seat of the Kings of Mallorca. Jaume II issued the market privilege here in 1306 and built a palace in 1309; nuns lived in it from 1583 until 2016. Close by rises Santa Maria, first recorded in 1248 and rebuilt in Gothic style after a fire in 1505. The winged lion of Saint Mark, the town's patron, guards its steps. On market mornings the bars around the stalls serve frit mallorquí, chopped offal fried with potatoes and vegetables. Lloret de Vistalegre, or Llorito, is fig country and celebrates the fruit at Es Sequer on the first Saturday of September. Near Algaida, inns line the old Manacor road and still grill over wood, sobrassada included.
Tips from our guides
- Ride on a Wednesday: the market runs from 8:00 to 14:00 but is at its liveliest in the morning, so aim to be in Sineu around 10:00. Leave Can Pastilla by 8:30 at the latest; the 35 km take about an hour and a half. The shop only opens at 9:00, so pick up your bike the day before. On other days the route is quieter and Sineu sleepy; Sa Mola 13 is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
- On market day the old-town streets are packed with stalls and people: walk the bike, lock it at the edge of the centre and explore on foot. Bring a lock and some cash, as many vendors prefer it to cards.
- Plan lunch by the day: Cal Dimoni is closed on Wednesdays, Es 4 Vents on Tuesdays, Hostal d'Algaida opens daily. Book at weekends and on holidays. A glass of wine with lunch? Cyclists in Spain are subject to the same limits as drivers (0.5 g/l in blood, 0.25 mg/l in breath, with a cut to 0.2 g/l in the pipeline), and you still have 19 km to ride home. Better take a bottle home instead.
- Bring a small backpack or frame bag for your shopping. Choose compact, well-wrapped pieces of sobrassada and hard cheese; soft cheese and big ensaïmada boxes do not travel well in the heat or in a jersey pocket.
- The Carretera vella de Sineu is straight and exposed, and cars overtake fast with no shoulder, so ride single file. On warm afternoons the embat sea breeze often blows in from the Bay of Palma, straight into your face on the final kilometres. Any road bike will do: the whole loop is asphalt.
Did you know?
- Sineu's market was established by King Jaume II in 1306, and it is still the only weekly market in Mallorca where live animals are sold. source
- Sobrassada de Mallorca has been an EU Protected Geographical Indication since 1996. A separate category, Sobrassada de Mallorca de Porc Negre, may only be made from the island's native black pig. source
- The winged lion above the church steps in Sineu was unveiled in 1945 to mark 300 years since Saint Mark became the town's patron in 1645. On his feast day, 25 April, snails are eaten across the Pla: a local saying promises free good health to anyone who eats them that day. source
Places along the route
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111 km
Carretera vella de Sineu (Ma-3011)
The old road from Palma to Sineu, the country seat of Mallorca's medieval kings. For 24 km it runs through the farmland of the Pla without entering a village, passing only the hamlets of Puntiró and Ruberts, which keeps it calm. Straight and easy to pace, but wide open to the wind.
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236 km
Sineu – Wednesday market
Mallorca's oldest market, backed by King Jaume II's privilege of 1306, fills the church square, Plaça des Fossar and the surrounding streets every Wednesday from 8:00 to 14:00. Look for sobrassada, cheese, olives, ensaïmadas, fruit and vegetables, plus the livestock section, the only one of its kind on the island. Lock the bike at the edge of the old town; Plaça des Fossar is about 5 minutes on foot.
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336 km
Sineu – Santa Maria and the royal palace
The parish church, rebuilt in Gothic style after a fire in 1505, has a tall bell tower, and since 1945 a winged lion of Saint Mark has watched over the steps leading up to it. Right by the route on Carrer de l'Esperança stands the palace Jaume II built in 1309, a convent from 1583 to 2016; the Diocese now opens it for visits about once a month. The church is about 200 m off the route.
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440 km
Lloret de Vistalegre
A quiet village of about 1,700 people at around 150 m, called Llorito by locals. The Ma-3130 skirts the old centre; the church of Our Lady of Loreto is about 200 m away. This is fig country: on the first Saturday of September the village celebrates them at Es Sequer.
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552 km
Algaida – inns on the old Manacor road
The old Palma–Manacor road runs past the village, and roadside inns grew up along it. Hostal d'Algaida (since 1961) sits right on the route, Cal Dimoni is 250 m away on Carrer de s'Estació, and Es 4 Vents lies a little further along the old road. Expect wood-fire grills, sobrassada, pa amb oli and arròs brut.
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653 km
Algaida
The route crosses the centre of this village of about 6,400 people at around 200 m, passing right by the parish church of Sant Pere i Sant Pau. To the south-east rises Puig de Randa (543 m) with the sanctuaries of Cura, Gràcia and Sant Honorat, where Ramon Llull once withdrew to meditate. A classic climb for another day.
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755 km
Camí de Cas Brau
A narrow asphalt lane that leaves Algaida westwards between fields and fincas, with very little traffic. Around km 60 it drops off the higher ground past Xorrigo to the flat Pla de Sant Jordi. Watch for farm vehicles and grit in the bends.
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