Setmana Ciclista Valenciana

Off the back of a fantastic 10 day training camp at Rocacorba Cycling, it was finally time to get on a start line again. Our European opener was the four stage Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, just down the coast from Girona and it really did feel like an early season race.

The bunch was basically a bundle of nerves. A winter’s worth of race anticipation unleashed a series of crashes that claimed many riders. Fortunately, the whole team managed to stay upright and out of trouble and, by the third stage, we we well positioned to put our attack plan into motion. 

Stage Three was the queen stage and the obvious crux that would decide the general classification was Xorret de Catí. I had looked at the parcours but it wasn’t until we reconned the climb a few days before the race that I realised how completely savage it was. A part of the Vuelta Espana many times in the past, the 4km climb has an average gradient of 11% with much steeper sections, especially during the second half the climb. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw; the last 2km were savage! I like steep climbs more than most but this early in the season, I felt a little underprepared! 

The stage was completely predictable but it wasn’t lacking in fireworks. A break had gone after the longer climb leading up the Xorret de Catí, with one of the riders, Soraya Paladin, having some valuable GC time. It wasn’t ideal but, as a team, we decided to stick to the plan, let the break go, and save it for the big beast of a climb that lay ahead. We hit the bottom and Movistar took control and set a demanding pace. Attacks started, including one from us, and chasers ramped up the pace again. I sat in and eventually we were down to a few riders and the fight was on. 

The road was decorated with names and there were sections lined with encouraging spectators but not for one second did I forget about me legs when the road tilted up and over 15%, 20%, and more. We caught what was left of the break but Clara Koppenburg stayed out of the saddle and mashed her way past the break and to the front of the race. It took me a bit longer to work my way past the break and by the time I had, Clara had a spacious gap. By the summit, Clara was clearly on her way to victory and I was coming in for second. 

Although I finished ahead of Paladin, her time advantage from the previous stage wasn’t to be overcome on the next day and neither was the 49 seconds that Koppenburg had claimed on the Catí. As the fourth and final stage ended with a bunch sprint, the GC unchanged, third was a great way to both finish our training camp and start our European season. Onwards and orange ;) 

Only The Best

Riding somewhere new can be great. It can also be terrible. There is nothing worse than showing up to ride a route or climb you have dreamed about only to end up on the busiest roads, going the wrong way, at the worst time. We’ve all been there. A lot of people come to Girona and waste precious kilometres when they could be riding the good stuff. 

I never realized the value of a guide until I became one. After riding in Girona for many years, it’s second nature for me to put together routes. From the Costa Brava to the Pyrenees and every back-lane, not-on-Google-Maps road, I’ve ridden it. There are certain things that you just have to find out and experience first-hand on two wheels. Of course I know all the climbs, how to fix any road-side mechanical, and the best places to stop for coffee but it’s more than that. Its creating rides even the seasoned Girona rider would be excited by, knowing where the water taps are on abandoned back roads, the most picturesque places to stop for photos, where all the friendly donkeys are, and, of course, the inevitable conversations along the way. 

I’ve ridden with dentists, accountants, geologists, stay-at-home parents, lawyers, photographers. . . from all around the world. After a long ride it’s hard to remember I’m a guide because after the ride we’re all just tired, happy, and ready for a piece of chocolate cake or (and, in some cases) a beer. I can get you from A to B on the best and most incredibly quiet roads you’ve ever ridden but you’ll find out the really good stuff is along the way.