The Mallorca 312 route, printed

Almost all the climbing comes early, in the Serra de Tramuntana, and then the island's plain takes over, with a long, rolling run out to Artà and the cut-off clock never far away.

The ride leaves Platja de Muro at half past six in the morning, with all three distances on the road together, and heads north past Port de Pollença to the first climb, the Coll de Femenia. From there the road keeps rising, in steps, past the turning for the monastery at Lluc and the Gorg Blau reservoir to the high point of the day, on the shoulder of Puig Major, the island's highest mountain, at about 870 metres. The descent to Sóller is long and fast, with rumble strips on the approach to the town and its railway crossings marked as danger points on the course.

Out of Sóller the Ma-10 climbs the Coll d'en Bleda and runs high along the cliffs above Deià and Sa Foradada towards Valldemossa. After the Coll d'en Claret the course bears right for the coast road through Banyalbufar and Estellencs, with the sea far below, over the Coll des Pi and down to Andratx in the south-west corner of the island. The Coll de Sa Gramola and the Coll de n'Esteva follow, then Es Capdellà, Galilea and the climb of the Grau de Superna before the road drops towards Esporles.

By Sa Granja the mountains are done, and the second half belongs to the plain: Lloseta, the stone-walled lanes to Campanet, then Ariany and Petra, and a descent of hairpins into the quiet valley towards Artà before the last stretch back to the coast. It is not flat, and after a morning in the Tramuntana the rolling roads take their toll. The event began in June 2010 with 199 riders, and the 312 has used this northern course since 2016; before that it was a lap of the whole island. Every road on the course is closed to traffic while the riders pass.