How Girona became a WorldTour cycling hotbed

Girona, Spain — the bustling Medieval city tucked halfway between Barcelona and France — is synonymous with elite men’s and women’s road racing.

It’s home away from home for literally hundreds of WorldTour pros from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and dozens of other countries.

Walk down the historic center and it’s a rare day the intrepid cycling fan wouldn’t spot some of the peloton’s biggest names.

The city is home to more than 100 professional WorldTour pros, and counting. Add sport directors, soigneurs, and other team staffers, and the number triples. Triathletes, runners, and other endurance athletes are moving there in droves as well.

With its mild weather, good transportation links, and an excellent network of low-traffic roads offering a mix of terrain, Girona is one of Europe’s cycling meccas.

Spain’s high-speed train links Girona to Barcelona in less than 45 minutes, and the rail line whisks travelers into France heading north as well.

Several teams have their service course headquarters in the area as well, including EF Education-EasyPost, Israel Premier Tech, Jayco-AlUla, and Human Powered Health.

Great restaurants and cafés, mixed with nearby beaches along the glittering Costa Brava, and it’s easy living for what’s become one of the major hubs for the anglophone cycling contingent.

But how did it all start? Why Girona over Europe’s other traditional cycling meccas in Nice, France, or Belgium?

It all began back in the mid-1990s and the birth of the U.S. Postal Service team.

The team’s roots started in 1995 with Montgomery Bell, and U.S. Postal Service came on as title sponsor the following season. As the newest and latest U.S.-backed team, management was intent on racing in Europe full-time.

That meant a new generation of U.S. riders would be putting down roots in Europe for the first time.

Traditionally, Americans settled in Belgium, Italy, and Nice, France.

That started to change due to one man: Johnny Weltz.

As the team’s original sport director, the Danish ex-pro was based in nearby Olot. Weltz raced five seasons with Spanish team ONCE, and was fluent in Spanish and Catalan. After retiring with Motorola in 1995, he transitioned into the lead sport director’s role for the upstart squad.

Weltz tells the story how the young U.S. riders were coming across to Europe and he knew just the place where they could settle.

“I knew Girona well and I thought it would a perfect place for the riders to make as their base,” Weltz said in an interview with VeloNews. “Back then, it wasn’t so easy for pros to come to Europe to settle down. Many of the Americans then were in Italy or France, but I thought Spain would be a bit easier. Girona was the ideal spot.”

La Fabrica, owned by ex-pro Christian Meier and his wife Amber, is a popular spot in Girona. (Photo: CyclingTips)

The “OG’s” in 1997 included George Hincapie, Marty Jemison, and Tyler Hamilton. The next season riders like Jonathan Vaughters and Christian Vande Velde join.

Through his contacts, Weltz helped the riders get set up in their first apartments and negotiate things like apartment leases, phone lines, utilities, and setting up local bank accounts.

The Internet was just starting to take off in those days, so logistics, paperwork, and administrative stuff was a lot more intensive.

Lance Armstrong’s arrival in 2000 put Girona firmly on the map. Behind them came wave after wave of riders from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and some of the Northern European nations like Denmark.

Riders started buying properties, and a few have made more money off the booming real estate market than they ever did racing their bikes.

There’s been a network support system and infrastructure that’s built up over the ensuing decades. Kids attend local schools and grow up speaking perfect Catalan.

A whole new generation of riders have since come in. Riders and staffers will often pass off apartments to other teammates, and a crash pad can be used by riders filing in and out of Europe for years.

Several pros have put down roots and opened business, including Christian Meier and his popular La Fabrica café. Rory Sutherland is involved with Federal Cafe, and Jumbo-Visma pro Robert Gesink opened Hors Catégorie.

David Millar started his CHPT3 clothing line in Girona, and several bike touring companies and bike-specific hostels and Air B&B’s have opened as well.

Some riders have peeled away to Andorra, which offers a better tax structure as well as built-in altitude training.

Yet Girona remains eternal among the anglophones of the peloton.

This week’s Volta a Catalunya is the “home away from home race” for many in the men’s peloton. Riders always want to perform well in front of the home crowds, even if they’re adopted ones.

It all started with Weltz and his helping hand 25 years ago.