Partnerships
What we accept, and what we label.
CyclingRoutes.cc is built on first-hand tested routes and editorial integrity. This page is the rulebook for anything commercial: who we'll work with, what we'll accept, and what gets labelled. The rules are written to hold from the first partnership, not from the point where there are enough of them to be worth governing. Editorial work costs something, and when someone helps pay for it, you'll see that said on the page where it applies — not here, and not in a footer.
How we work
Every route on CyclingRoutes.cc is written up by the person who rode it — most by the editor, the rest by named contributors whose names appear on the route. The same standard governs anything commercial: we'd have to want to recommend it anyway.
Some of that work may be paid for by affiliate commission, or by a hotel covering a stay so we can test it properly. That's advertising in the legal sense, and it's labelled as such wherever it appears. What doesn't change:
- Merit decides what we cover. We list a hotel because it holds up for a cyclist — bike storage, an early breakfast, a road worth riding from the door. A partnership can change how much we write about a place, and we label it when it does. It doesn't change whether the place was worth writing about.
- No commission-driven copy. Where we link to booking platforms or affiliates, it's because the link is useful for the reader. The link doesn't shape the writing.
- Labelled where you'll see it. Affiliate links, paid placements, and stays a hotel has covered for us are marked on the listing itself, in the language you're reading — not in a footer, not on a separate page.
If we wouldn't recommend it without the partnership, we wouldn't write about it with one.
What we offer
Partnership formats vary by partner type. The shared standard is that the work is editorial — first-hand, voice-consistent, and held to the same quality bar as the rest of the site.
Hotels and accommodation
Editorial coverage on the relevant region or country page, plus integration into trip-builder itineraries where the location fits. First-hand stays, editorial photography, and route-context that surrounding listings don't carry. Multilingual where the destination language calls for it (currently EN, NO, DE, ES).
What we look for
Not every brand or destination is a fit. The bar is editorial alignment, not budget.
We look for:
- Product, service, or destination quality that holds up to first-hand testing
- Visual and editorial sensibility that fits a publication built on substance over marketing speak
- Long-term partnership orientation — not one-off campaigns
- Comfort with editorial independence — partners don't shape coverage
We pass on:
- Pay-for-coverage offers, regardless of size
- Partnerships requiring scripted talking points or pre-approved copy
- Brands or destinations where the underlying product wouldn't earn coverage on its own merit
This isn't a list designed to sound principled. It's the working filter.
Get in touch
If you're a hotel, brand, or tourism partner whose work fits the editorial direction here, we'd welcome a conversation.
- For partnership inquiries: partnerships@cyclingroutes.cc
- For everything else: hello@cyclingroutes.cc
A short note about who you are and what you have in mind is enough to start. Download the media kit.
CyclingRoutes.cc — handpicked European cycling routes. Founded by Tommy Nielsen.