We'll start our route from the FGV Train Station next to Dénia's promenade, since the area is very easy to access and offers more than enough parking space.

Dénia is located on the Northern coast of the province of Alicante and it's the capital town of the Marina Alta region, also known as "Marquesado de Dénia" (Marquisate of Dénia). Our route goes through the Vall de Gallinera valley, named after a town of the same name.

At the beginning of the route, we'll have the chance to enjoy an easy ride by the coast until we reach Dénia's marina. After that, we'll get further away from the sea gradually, going past Dénia's Castle, which we'll see on our left-hand side. We'll follow Avda. Miguel Hernández up to the CV-723 road, which will take us through orange fields and crops before joining the CV-700 road. This road will give us the opportunity to cycle by the wetlands in the Pego-Oliva Marsh Nature Reserve and will lead us to the town of Pego.

The flat road we have been on so far shifts after this town and turns into an ascent of… 24.6 km! This will take us to the little village of Margarida (Valencia). This part of the road, known as Vall de Gallinera's mountain pass (Category 2) because of the valley it belongs to, is not too steep, but it goes up continuously for 24.6 km, with an average gradient of 2.28% and a maximum gradient of 8%.

Vall de Gallinera is a long, corridor-shaped valley that runs Northeast-Southwest. It holds both the source and the riverbed of the Gallinera river, which is surrounded by the Sierra del Almirante, the Sierra de la Albureca and the Sierra Foradada mountain ranges.

This is one of the few valleys that can be found in the mountains of Alicante and it houses the villages of Benirrama, Benialí, Benisivá, Beniaya, La Carroja, Alpatró, Llombai and Benisili. All these make up just one municipality, whose town hall is in Benialí. Our route passes either through or nearby all these charming, small villages.

Just before arriving at Margarida, the CV-700 road becomes the CV-712, and it's then that we'll be able to say that we've started the way back to Dénia. The road after this is a 12-kilometer leg-breaker with continuous uphill and downhill sections that sometimes get really steep. This part of the road passes near Beniaia and gets even closer to the village of Alcalá de la Jobada. Both villages belong to the municipality of La Vall d´Alcalá.

We'll then face the descent to the town of La Vall d´Ebo. After 62 km, we believe this might be a good place to have a snack and fill up our water bottles. Even though we'll have completed most of the climbs for the day by then, we'll still have two more left.

We'll start one of those climbs, which leads to a mountain pass known as Vall d'Ebo (Category 3), right after leaving the town. This is a 3.4-kilometre ascent with an average gradient of 4.74% and a maximum gradient of 7%. The descent that awaits for us after reaching the top twists and bends continuously, and its 9 kilometres can be covered at a dizzying speed, while enjoying the mesmerising views of the Pego-Oliva Marsh Nature Reserve and the Mediterranean Sea in the distance. This will take us to the CV-715 road, very close to Pego. However, we'll turn right at this point towards Sagra, which will lead us to the last climb for the day. This one might not be classified as a mountain pass, but it will still be quite a challenge after all the efforts done so far.

Once we arrive at Sagra, we'll take the CV-729 road towards El Ràfol d´Almunia, going through Benimeli, Beniarbeig, Ondara and La Xara, just before getting back to Dénia and reaching the end of our route. Although this part of the road is slightly downhill, we'll have to keep pedaling all the way down and, most of the times, against the wind. In return, though, we'll be able to enjoy the magnificent view of the Montgó on our right-hand side.