Los Christiantos - Teide
This route to the summit is the most popular. Kilometer after kilometer and hairpin after hairpin, you can get lost in the ever-changing scenery. You leave the populated coast qucikly behind, riding through an arid landscape before this gives way to a forest and finally the famous lunar landscape the top is known for. Often this climb is split into two. There is a good stop in Vilaflor for a break and the chance of a coffee.
Why the Pros like it?
In the 2010 Tour Wiggins struggled with the longer, higher passes. His coach at the time, Tim Kerrison suggested heading to Tenerife. Kerrison explained the benefits to William Fotheringham in an interview for the Guardian: “. …..the weather is relatively stable in April and May and Wiggins was able to climb up to 4,000m a day. He was also working on very specific intervals between 1,500m and 2,200m, the point at which the oxygen reduction in the air, due to altitude, starts to have an effect, and the place where most attacks were likely to happen in the Tour".