Andorra
Tour de France stage 10: Suffer Faces
What was the hardest thing you did on Tuesday? I promise it wasn’t as hard as the opening 25 kilometers of the tenth stage. With just a few neutral kilometers in their legs to warm up, the peloton hit the climb to Port d’Envalira. The initial dozen kilometers were fairly harmless, mostly around 3% to … Continue reading
2015 La Vuelta stage 12
Andorra: beautiful scenery but very few cycling fans! Tony Hurel. Carlos Verona. Julien Simon. Dominique Rollin poses for fans. Markel Irizar and Stephane Rossetto's bike wait dutifully for their riders. Andrew Talasnky. Carlos Barbero. Amael Moinard and Mattia Cattaneo head in opposite directions. Joey Rosskopf signs … Continue reading
2015 La Vuelta stage 11: Alto Els Cortals d’Encamp
Thanks to a new friend with a car and the free funicular, we landed ourselves the perfect viewing spot about 1.2km before the finish line on Alto Els Cortals d'Encamp. When a single light blue dot appeared on a far road, it could only be Mikel Landa coming in to claim the stage. … Continue reading
2015 La Vuelta stage 11: Collada de Beixalis
Rest day? What rest day? It was a distant memory when the peloton woke up this morning to prepare for the 138km queen stage. I hiked up the first of 6 categorized climbs, which came after less than 10km of riding for the peloton. Waiting for the peloton. Romain Sicard and Darwin … Continue reading
La Vuelta a España reflection & stats
Like so many riders, I, too, have had to abandon the Vuelta in the Pyrenees. The good news is that I have more races lined up in my schedule, but we'll get to that. The Vuelta is a totally different animal than the Tour de France. The Tour is prestige and glamour, while the … Continue reading
La Vuelta a España stage 15
Today’s Vuelta stage is the longest of all at 225 kilometers and travels through 4 categorized climbs. Igor Anton of Euskaltel was the first rider to sign on this morning. Graeme Brown gave an interview. Juan Antonio Flecha. Evgueni Petrov was my first Saxo autograph of the day. He seemed really … Continue reading
La Vuelta a España stage 14
When I originally sat down to decide which Vuelta stages I'd see, I was really torn between going to today's sign on in Bagá or finding a way up the Collada de la Gallina, a first category climb and summit finish. Bagá was an easy place to get to and I absolutely love getting to … Continue reading