Vuelta Leon 2017
Hey Everyone. Im back. I would have loved to have written something about Vuelta Casta Leon a bit more detailed and earlier but things have been crazy. A few hours after Vuelta Leon finished I jumped on a bus. Seven hours later I arrived at Madrid airport. From Madrid to Jeddah, a seven hour stop-over and a final Eight Hour flight to South Africa. And now finally after catching up on some much needed sleep Im sitting in a bike shop (waiting for my bike) writing this blog wondering where to begin.
The Tour has been very exciting! But above all- one of the most stressful ones I've done in quite some time. The Tour started with a night Prologue in the streets of Leon with spectators streaming in to see what all the commotion is about. The prologue was a mere 3.5km making it some what special racing under the night sky. Things started well but I ended up losing the prologue by a mere 1.7 seconds. Possibly due to braking too hard in the final corner simply because I was just scared shitless to go any faster. But at the same time- a blessing in disguise- as it would have been extremely difficult for the Team to try and control the race from day one.
A prologue doesn't count as a stage so the next day would count as stage 1. Stage one had a few categorized climbs finishing in a national park which meant no littering. This is a big deal because as cyclists we usually throw the bottles off the bike when we get refueled by teammates and it is too risky to go back to the car. This stage was extremely difficult but still did not qualify as the queen stage. Long story short. The team set an extremely hard pace on the second final climb of the day to set me up for an attack. After cresting the cat 1 climb I had 30seconds heading into a twisty descent I did not know before finishing on a cat 2 climb to the finish. Obviously I did not risk it enough as I was quickly caught by six riders as the final cat 2 Climb started. Not much happened as we were all basically too scared to attack each other. The French Ammatuer Champ had the best legs at the end off the day and won the stage. The attack on the cat 1 took quite a lot out of me and I lost two valuable seconds finishing 4th on the stage but taking the overall lead.
Stage two must by far have been the easiest and boring stage of the Tour. The Team rode themselves broken in the first 100km of the race into a headwind trying to control a break of 21 riders before some other sprinters teams started taking some interest in the stage honors. Three riders stayed away after the 140km stage by a mere 13 seconds.
Stage three was the queen stage. The final climb of the day finished on an H.C Climb which is rated as one of the most difficult climbs you can find on the planet as a cyclist. The final climb finished with an average gradient of 12% at 5km. The drag before the climb was very difficult but was not rated. What made it extremely difficult is that before heading onto the final climb we had to deal with a Tough Cat 2 and 3 Climb in short succession before the historical Climb of Ancares. Especially well known for the battle Chris Froome and Alberto Contador had in 2014 when Contador won the Vuelta Espana Overall. The final kilometer of the climb proved to be a bit too much for me, but I managed to finish 4th on the stage losing 7 seconds- but keeping the race lead by a mere second over Euskadi rider Juan Chupe López.
This also meant that heading into the final stage of Vuelta Leon it would be difficult getting in a good nights rest. But when a team has worked so hard for you you feel a much greater sense of responsibility. The final stage had one cat3 62km, ca 2 88km and a tricky steep little cat3 10km from the finish. With the cat3 climbs having such difficult entries meant it would be a big bunch fight for positioning before each climb. Mano, my teammate, would have been definitely man of the match for this tour. It didn't matter how long he pulled, or how big the mountain if you told him to be there at whatever moment - he would find a way to be there.
On the only cat2 climb of the day other teams really picked up the pace to isolate me from my teammates, but Mano made a daredevil descent to get back of what was left of the peloton. As he rejoined, he went straight back to the head of the peloton to real in Roberto Mendez- which was a mere 3 seconds behind me on the general classification. He kept the pace high leading onto the final cat3 climb of the day making it difficult for our rivals to attack. The attacks did come, but wasn’t enough, and as I crested the climb I knew we’ve won the tour!
I would like to thank my teammates and Rias Baixas for the incredible support. It is not something I take for granted and the passion they have shown towards the sport is something words can’t describe. They have created an environment which has motivated me TO WANT TO RIDE THE SHIT OUT OF MY BICYCLE.
Their love and passion for the sport is something money can’t buy, words can’t describe and only be experienced if willing.
My blog for Vuelta Leon will be uploaded soon. I hope you enjoy it!!
@williesmurfy
