Stage 10: Vuelta a Espana in Alicante

For the fifth consecutive day, I attended at stage of the Vuelta a Espana. Today, the tour started in Alicante – a 90 minute drive from where the Ultimate Sports Wife and I are staying. As I wrote when the tour was in Valencia, I would normally not drive 90 minutes to attend a cycling race that only lasts a few minutes (especially when there are other stages to attend within a shorter drive). However, Nicole and I wanted to visit Alicante at some point during our trip so why not have our visit coincide with the tour.

Parking and the Race
We did not arrive in Alicante until about 12:20 pm. The race was scheduled to begin at 12:55 pm. One of the main issues with arriving at a tour event close to the start time is that the roads are closed and most of the parking is already taken.

By the time we found a parking place and walked the few blocks to the starting line, we barely saw the riders start the race and the caravan ensue. Simon Gerrans earned the stage victory as the stage finished in Murcia.

Post Event Dining
After the riders and their caravan drove off, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I ate at Cerveceria Café Carpe Diem – a restaurant along the main road near the starting line. As with the other stages we attended, we then toured around Alicante.

Stage 9: Vuelta a Espana in Alcoy

For the fourth consecutive day, I attended a stage of the Tour of Spain. Today, the tour started in the city of Alcoy – a 30 minute drive from where I am staying. This was the fourth time Alcoy has hosted a stage in the history of the Spanish Tour. The last time Alcoy hosted was in 2004. Even if I had not planned to attend the other stages, I would have definitely attended this one based on Alcoy’s proximity to Benimassot, Spain.

According to lavuelta.com the stage was to begin at 12:10 pm. Thus, I arrived in Alcoy and was parked around 11:15 am.

The Race
One of the benefits of attending the start of a stage is that you can “mingle” with the riders before the event begins. Of course, I define “mingle” as you can take pictures with them as they get their bike and gear ready for the day ahead.

The event started with the honorary cutting of the ribbon. The race appeared to begin about five minutes early when the bikes started riding and the caravan ensued. Since I was not with the Ultimate Sports Wife I did not take in any of the sites in Alcoy but headed back to the house.

Gustavo Cesar Veloso won the stage, while Alejandro Valverde took the overall tour lead and will wear the gold jersey.

Stage 8: Vuelta a Espana in Beniaya

Although we would not see the start or the finish, stage 8 was riding through the neighboring towns from where we are staying. We are staying in Benimassot and the next towns to the east are Tollos, then Facheca, then Famorca – three towns which the tour was riding through.

We were in the process of deciding which town to watch the race from when our neighbors knocked on our door at 11 am. They asked if we wanted to watch the tour with them. Of course, we said yes. They told us to bring some food and drinks as we would be watching from outside a smaller town, Beniaya, and having a picnic in the middle of a mountain. The Ultimate Sports Wife and I were excited since this was a rare experience to watch the race go by in such a remote location. They knocked on the door again at 12:30 pm and said our ride would be here in five minutes.

Of course, our ride was not there in five minutes as we waited and waited. According to lavuelta.com, the riders were supposed to arrive in Beniaya at 1:51 pm, 1:58 pm and 2:06 pm – depending on their speed. As it approached 1:20 pm, I started to get nervous we would miss the race.

Our driver showed up at 1:30 pm, we packed the car quickly and we were off. Little did we know, we would be taking a “secret” road over the mountains in order to end up in the location where they wanted to watch the tour. The “secret” road consisted of a dirt road driving over the mountain rather than a paved road going around the mountain. It’s a good thing we took that road as I don’t think we could have gotten to the location outside Beniaya otherwise.

We arrived at the remote location about 5 minutes before the leaders showed up. After the leaders, the peloton showed up 15 minutes later. We could see the peloton at the bottom of the mountain and saw them as they climbed the mountain to where we were located.

After the caravan (which includes the team cars, police and ambulances following the tour) went by it was time for a picnic in the middle of the mountains – an experience nearly impossible to recreate unless you have some locals helping you out. If you are a cycling fan, I am sure you have seen the random fans along the Tour de France route in some remote locations. That was pretty much where we were. A location so remote it took a 4x4 driving over a mountain to arrive on time.

Post Event Dining
If attending a tour in a small town, try to find a bar in one of the towns along the tour to watch some more of the stage on television. We happened to drive back to Benimassot, where we went to the only bar/restaurant in town to watch the remainder of the stage.

The Race
Stage 8 was the first mountain stage of the tour, which included almost no flat sections. Damiano Cuengo overtook David Moncoutie less than 1,000 meters from the finish line in Alto de Aitana to win the stage as Cadel Evans took the lead of the tour and received the gold jersey.

Stage 7: Vuelta a Espana in Valencia

Very rarely is there an opportunity to attend two sporting events in the same day while in Europe. Not that two sporting events do not occur on the same day, but getting the wife approval is more difficult. Under normal circumstances, I probably would not drive 90 minutes to attend the Tour of Spain – given the fact the tour was in other areas closer to where we are staying. However, Valencia’s second division soccer club, Levante, had a home match scheduled for Saturday night – meaning I could attend both events in Valencia Saturday.

Last Sunday, when we went to Valencia, all of the shops were closed since it was the end of August (Spain is closed in August as the Spaniards are on vacation). Thus, with the wife wanting to shop and two sporting events in Valencia the day was set.

Time Trials
The event in Valencia was an individual time trial – meaning rather than spending 5 minutes watching the leaders and the peloton, cyclists ride individually on a course throughout the city. If you are a cycling aficionado this is the best way to watch every rider as they are not bunched up with the rest of the tour. The event started at 1:20 pm and finished around 5:30 pm.

However, if you are the Ultimate Sports Wife and enjoy spending less than one minute watching the riders during a regular stage, then this is not the event for you. Thus, Nicole decided she would not brave the rain and instead shop at the El Corte Ingles we parked at (0.02 euros per minute) for the event. But Nicole had the last laugh as she was able to watch a section of the time trial from the 8th floor of the El Corte Ingles rather than stand in the rain by the finish line as I had done.

The Race
The seventh stage consisted of a 30 kilometer time trial that started and finished on Valencia’s Formula 1 street circuit. Since I was unable to see the entire course when I attended the Formula 1 event two weeks ago, this gave me an opportunity to see the finish line – which was one of the reasons I walked in the rain to see the main area.

Fabian Cancellara won the stage and kept the gold jersey for one more day finishing the 30-kilometers in 36:41 – way ahead of the other competitors. David Millar, who placed second, was 32 seconds behind Cancellara, third place Bert Grabsch was 36 seconds slower and fourth place David Herrero was 40 seconds behind.

Stage 6: Vuelta a Espana in Xativa

On a weekend when La Liga is not playing due to World Cup qualifying matches, the perfect distraction is to have the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain) come through our area. The current plan is to attend five consecutive stages within a reasonable driving distance (no more than 90 minutes away).

The first stage within a reasonable driving distance was stage 6, which began and ended in Xativa – a one hour drive from where the Ultimate Sports Wife and I are staying. Xativa hosted its first stage finish. The last time it hosted a stage start was in 2004.

Pre Event Dining
As with any cycling tour the most enjoyable part (for both you and the wife) is eating and drinking while waiting for the cyclists. The Ultimate Sports Wife finds cycling events the perfect event since she is able to eat, drink and relax waiting for the cyclists and then when the cyclists finally do show up they whiz by in less than one minute.

We found two cafes in Xativa that were on the final turn to the finish line. The first was Horno Pasteleria Ortiz. The second was Bar Las Vegas. Both had outdoor seating but Ortiz was cleaner and we had a better view of the course. After a couple of drinks and a snack we got up to watch the riders.

The Race
After waiting for about 20 minutes, the leaders of the stage rode by at 5:14 pm. The peloton was not too far behind, which came by two minutes later.

Slovenian Borut Bozic won the stage for team Vacansoleil, who beat out American Tyler Farrar and Italian Daniele Bennati, giving Vacansoleil their first victory in a major three week race. German Andre Greipel, who finished 10th, is still the leader and wears the gold jersey.

After the race
Before or after you watch the riders, you should be sure to tour the city where the race starts or finishes. After the race, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I drove to the Xativa Castle located on a hill above the city.