Amazing! How else to describe a day hanging around the best cyclists in the world, as they set off on the 120-mile Stage 12 race from the medieval town of Burgos, to the seaside town of Suances, Spain.John & I were shuttled to Burgos (a 2-hour drive from Santillana Del Mar) early in the morning. We had about an hour and a half to kill before we met the team and crew, so we tooled around the center of town, toured the historic cathedral and watched the passersby.
At about noon we were escorted to "backstage" to the area where the pro teams assembled and prepared for the day's race. We were hanging out with Team Astana! John & I thought we died and went to cycling heaven..we were like giddy schoolkids. We met a number of famous cycling 'celebrities' like Johann Bruyneel, "Chechu" Rubiera, Yaroslav Popov, Levi Leipheimer, and Paol0 Bettini.
The it was time to get even giddier.
John & I loaded into one of three Astana team cars; these are support vehicles that accompany the cyclists during the entire stage race (providing mechanical assistance, replacement bikes, food, water, anything they need). And at the wheel of our car was none other than Viatcheslav "Eki" Ekimov ("Eki" was one of Lance Armstrong's domestiques during the heady US Postal & Discovery Channel days).
We rode with Eki during the entire stage, about 200K (120 miles) of fast flats as well as some of the most intimidating Cat 1 and Cat 2 climbing we've seen (certainly in person). The weather was cool and dry for about 50 miles, then as we headed into the mountains of Cantabria, the temps plummeted and the skies opened up. We watched some amazing cycling right up to the uphill finish in Suances, Spain, along the northern coast.
Once again, an amazing and once in a lifetime experience. A heart THANK YOU to our friends at Trek Travel for making this happen for us today!
More soon - tomorrow John & I will ride 50+ miles of our own westward, as we head towards the same Cantabrian mountains that hide the famed Alto De L'Angliru (a grueling set of climbs scheduled for Saturday). We are going to try climbing the same mountain that the pros will climb the same day, a few hours later.
Ciao for now,
John & John
2 comments:
Wow! It sounds like you are having an amazing time. I bet the wine is fantastic too. Please bring some back! :-)
It would not be you without a glass of fine wine after a day's ride with the Europeans...
Post a Comment