The Road Trip World Cup
It hasn’t escaped Detour’s notice that there’s a fairly major sporting event taking place in the USA, Canada and Mexico, and it got us thinking…
What if there was a World Cup of Road Trips, where each country’s best driving roads were pitted against each other to determine the greatest on the planet?
On this site you’ll find over 350 road trips in more than 70 countries to choose from, so we’ve dug into the archive and created our own unique tournament, to highlight the best Detours in each nation. Read on to see who hoists the glorious gold trophy.
Group A
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Mexico plays Highway 40D from Durango to Mazatlán. With 115 bridges and 61 tunnels on its 159 mile route through the mountains, it’s one of the most incredible feats of engineering in the Americas.
Photo Sebastian Staines / Unsplash
South Africa has a strong squad with a dozen routes on Detour, but is fielding the short Chapman’s Peak Drive for its combination of astonishing ocean views and coastal curves.
South Korea is hoping to get the crowds crooning with its Singing Road, which plays Mary Had a Little Lamb via your tyres as you drive along at 100 km/h.
Czech Republic is opting for speed by selecting its D3 motorway from Prague to Linz, which has a limit of 150 km/h, making it one of the fastest roads in Europe.
Winner: South Africa. A close call with Mexico, but Chapman’s Peak drive is more thrilling from behind the wheel.
Group B
Photo Jaguar
Canada is playing it cool with the Dempster Highway, high up in the Arctic where temperatures plummet to 50 below and Ice Road Truckers are usually the only ones brave enough to make the journey in winter.
Photo Barry Hayden
The passes of Switzerland are world famous and it’s hard to single one out from the dozen amazing alpine drives we’ve got on the site. However, if forced to field just one, it would be the Bernina Pass for its year-round opening, majestic mountain views and challenging curves.
Winner: Switzerland. A striking but straight highway or a scintillating series of switchbacks, it’s an easy win for the Swiss.
Group C
Brazil’s Costa Verde route throws in captivating views of sea and sand and the option of heading deep into the jungle.
Photo Tom Salt
Morocco could field drives in the Sahara desert or high in the Atlas Mountains, but it’s the dramatic Dades Gorge and its telegenic twists and turns that get sent out to face the opposition.
Photo Jonny Fleetwood
Scotland is also spoiled for choice. The North Coast 500 would be an obvious contender, but it’s the Snow Roads that get selected. Whether in winter or summer these routes through the Cairgorms are stunning.
Winner: Morocco. Scotland will always feature on Detour’s favourite drives, but head-to-head with the Dades Gorge makes the Scots the underdogs, ahead of Brazil.
Group D
Photo Morten Andreassen / Unsplash
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Australia’s options vary from incredible ocean drives to deserted Outback bashes. The Stuart Highway which runs through the very heart of the country from Adelaide to Darwin over more than 1,600 miles is a strong contender for the Roadaroos.
Photo Dave Smith / Mazda
Turkey is playing a dangerous game by putting the Derabasi Turns on the pitch. Climbing over 1,000 feet in just three miles this dirt road features 13 switchbacks and perilous drops.
Winner: Turkey. The home nation is in a tough group here and really nobody is a loser, however the heart-in-mouth moments on the Derabasi Turns make it top of the group.
Group E
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Germany gets lucky as the only country in its group to have routes on Detour. However, that doesn’t mean picking one to play is easy. Obvious options include the Nürburgring (a toll road) or a flat-out autobahn, but we’re sentimental so it’s the Romantic Road that gets Germany through the Group Stage.
Winner: Germany. An easy pass through the group stage through lack of competition on Detour. We’ll have to fix that before the next tournament.
Group F
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The Netherlands is fielding the most colourful road trip in Europe - the Tulip Route. Will it be bloom or bust?
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Japan’s Touge roads are legendary thanks to the outlaw drift racers who slid their way through the mountains. For some, driving the Irohazaka Winding Road is an almost religious experience.
Photo Volvo
Sweden could play the Santa card with a Lapland drive, but instead it’s a darker Scandinavian Noir route over the infamous Bridge to Denmark that aims to scre the opposition.
Winner: Japan. A colourful play by the Netherlands and a sombre mood from Sweden can’t knock Japan from the top spot.
Group G
Photo Nik Berg
Belgium banks on its neighbour for its entry with the brilliant drive from the Nürburgring to Spa-Francorchamps. It’s well worth taking the longer way between these two iconic race tracks.
Photo Josh Withers / Unsplash
New Zealand is a remarkable country and it’s the Remarkables Road on the South Island that gets pitched here.
Winner: Belgium. For motorsports fans a drive between two of Europe’s most famous race tracks on a twisty road is a shoe-in.
Group H
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Spain is always a front-runner in the World Cup and Detour’s title fight is no different. We’ve got a host of different roads that could have mad the cut, from the Road of a Thousand Bends to playing Fast and Furious in the Canary Islands. It’s the Llosa del Cavall in Catalunya, where a single stretch of road is light a greatest hits album.
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Saudi Arabia may well be in the record books for having the world’s longest, straightest road, but it’s still a long shot for the cup.
Uruguay’s Atlantic coast road reveals beautiful beaches, great golf courses and fine wine. An unexpected play.
Winner: Spain. A good effort from the competitors, but we’ve not found a road quite like the Llosa del Cavall anywhere else on the planet. Bucket list stuff.
Group I
Photo Nik Berg
France is another team with a massive pool to pull from. Amazing alpine passes, curvaceous coast roads, tree-lined avenues, race tracks past and present, all compete to represent the nation. A tough choice, but the simply super road to Superbagnères is Detour’s pick.
Photo Peter Dawson
Don’t underestimate Norway. Whether it’s the road to Hell or a drive to Nordkapp this Nordic nation offers endless driving adventures. The Atlantic Ocean Road is a prime example. Featured in a Bond movie, this amazing route includes eight bridges that span a series of small islands, some so low that you feel you’re skimming the sea, while others are a roller coaster ride into the sky and down again.
Winner: Norway. France put up a fight, but you can’t beat a Bond location, especially one as beautiful as the Atlantic Ocean Road.
Group J
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Argentina isn’t just handy with a ball, the country is world famous for motorsport, and with roads like the Uspallata Pass high up in the Andes it’s no surprise that Argentina turns out some very tasty drivers.
Photo John Wycherley
Austria is an alpine driver’s dream come true. There are too many amazing mountain roads to list, but the Grossglockner High Alpine Pass is going to be hard to beat.
Photo Ben Coombs
Jordan’s Kings Highway has existed for millennia – you’ll even find this desert drive referenced in the Bible. Is making history in this world cup a possibility?
Winner: Austria. The Grossglockner was built just for drivers and it shows.
Group K
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Portugal kicks off with a scientific study that says its N222 is the best road in the world. But driving is about emotion as much as physics, so will it be enough?
A drive from Colombia’s capital to its Caribbean coast offers a diverse mix of lush rainforest and craggy Andean peaks. Variety is the spice of life.
Winner: Portugal. A close call, with Colombia offering the road less-travelled, but we do like a challenging road and the algorithm reckons the N22 is just that.
Group L
Photo Nik Berg
England is Detour’s home nation, so forgive us if we throw our support behind the Lions’ drives. We’ve got many, many English road trips on Detour and it’s tough to pick a favourite, but things don’t get much more quintessentially English than Driving the Picture Perfect Wye Valley in a Morgan.
Croatia’s Adriatic Highway is a seashore drive to savour as it hugs the coast from Rijeka to Dubrovnik. A decent qualifier for sure.
Panama’s place on the Pan-American Highway also puts Central America into the competition. Calling it a highway is optimistic as it can be narrow, twisty and treacherous in places.
Winner: England. Home team bias wins out, but that certainly doesn’t make the other two losers.
THE FINAL
Detour’s rules of the tournament are less complex than FIFA’s so we’re just pitting the winners of each group against each other in one massive kickabout – or driveabout to be more accurate. Although we drive with our hearts, it’s Germany’s Romantic Road that is the first to fall. It’s a lovely route, but not such a dynamic drive. Portugal may have science on its side but while the N222 offers plenty of twists and turns it’s not so scenic. Belgium drops out for the same reason, for a truly great drive one needs a beauty and bends. South Africa’s Chapman’s Peak score on both but is quickly dispatched, and so too is Morocco’s Dades Gorge and Japan’s Irohazaka Winding Road, and even Turkey’s treacherous Derabasi Turns. England narrowly misses out on a medal, simply because the final three are so strong. Taking the bronze medal is Spain, the Llosa del Cavall is amazing for just how much variety it squeezes in. Silver goes to Norway’s Atlantic Ocean road, which is just breathtaking (and Bond-famous). Lifting the World Cup is Austria thanks to the absolute icon that is the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, tunnels, twists, mountain views and a toll that keeps traffic levels low, make it a deserved winner.
Photo Peter Jan Rijpkema / Unsplash
What if there was a World Cup of Road Trips, where each country’s best driving roads were pitted against each other to determine the greatest on the planet?