Tochni Bike routes

Tochni (named from the Greek word τεχνη (techni), which means art) is a tiny village not far from the Mediterranean coast of Cyprus. Its traditional character and architecture attracts hundreds of cyclists and cycle-tourists every year! Amongst them some of the biggest names of mountain-biking and road cycling world. For a number of years the legendary mountain-biker Bart Brentjens, Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjia ,Yana Belomoina and in the recent years Thomas Frischknecht, Anna van der Breggen and Annika Langvad are choosing Tochni in Cyprus for their stay during their training camp and first race of the year, the Cyprus Sunshine Epic.My first time Tochni was in 2003, when I visited a group of cyclists who were here for their spring cycling camp. I met them at the 'taverna', which overlooks the whole village, sitting outside enjoying their freshly made breakfast with local products and flavors.Right at that moment I thought, what a nice way to start your day, in the beautiful spring nature of Cyprus, in a picturesque village with cycling friends, enjoying local food and looking forward to riding a bike!Tom, one of the group riders, was in Tochni the previous autumn for family holidays and he was amazed by what the area had to offer for cycling. He explained to me that the group consisted of road cyclists as well as mountain-bikers and Tochni is ideally located to perfectly cater for both riding options."From here we can directly head into the mountain-bike trails or we have numerous options or road cycling routes, most of them in the mountains as well some flat sections options to the east".Since then I have been returning often to Tochni to ride the trails or go out on a nice road cycling ride with friends from Limassol or Larnaca. In Spring Tochni was hosting the popular mountain-bike Marathon "Aphrodite Trophy" with the majority of the participants coming from overseas to start their mountain-bike season in this tiny village. As mentioned above, Tochni is the cycling center for hundreds mountain-bikers that come to Cyprus always in February and in spring to start their racing season and have their training camps. The infrastructure here with a full service bike center from Activate Cyprus (activatecyprus.com) and the beautiful routes are the best setup for the professional as well the amateurs and leisure cyclists.From Tochni one can ride hundreds of km of paved and unpaved (gravel or mtb trails) routes with a variable of grades and degrees of difficulty. From flat fast rolling terrain along the seaside to the epic climb to Olympus at almost 2000m above the sea level.
Other iconic climbs are the one to Stavrovouni or to Vavatsinia and Kionia from where you overlook the capital Nicosia. Also from Tochni you can climb up to Kellaki and Dierona just above the city of Limassol. For the easier days on the road bike you can enjoy the spring Cyprus sun along the Mediterranean coast towards Larnaca where you can indulge in a nice cup of coffee under the palm trees!Most of these routes are also available in an off-road variation for the mountain-bikers. But the highlight for the lovers of dirt is the epic routes of one of the most historical races in Europe, the Cyprus Sunshine Epic.At the same time leisure cyclists or even families can ride a touring bike or an electric bike to the neolithic archeological sites of the area or visit the halloumi cheese farms, the wineries of the area or even go to Lefkara, one of the most beautiful villages on the island. In Lefkara the visitors can explore the traditional houses, displaying some of the best preserved traditional architecture on the island and marvel the locals' skills in silver crafting and lace embroidery.The area around Tochni is well known for its archeological significance for the island as there are two archeological sites of the Neolithic era, the one in Choirokitia and the other near Kalavasos. The church in the middle of the village is built on an arch above the river that passes through the village and according to the history it was founded by Saint Helen and her son Konstantinos on their return from the Holy land in Israel.