26th Edition Miguel Indurain Sportif 2017.

On Friday 21^st July2017  I  left the shop at 4.30 am accompanied by our apprentice mechanic Harry Morrow, Martyn Stone and Steve Turbo Buckley to travel 700kms to Pamplona in Navarre for the 2018 Pinarello roadshow and the 26^th edition Miguel Indurain Sportif. It was an early start and a long journey however without any problems and quiet roads we arrived at our Hotel safely at 12noon where we immediately noticed the change in temperature, it was 10 degrees colder up here. We unloaded our bikes and checked in to our rooms then proceeded to the exhibition room where we watched a Pinarello presentation followed by lunch.After lunch we were shown the exciting new 2018 Pinarello range, including new e-bikes and city bikes.We then got changed and went for a gentle 25k cycle around the local area with Harry using a new Pinarello Gan limited edition road bike. All dealers got to borrow a 2018 model Pinarello Gan with Ultegra groupset especially designed for the event. We returned to the hotel at 6pm, got washed and changed ready to board the bus which took us to the Don Carlos Hotel in Villava, home of Miguel Indurian. The dining room was beautifully set for our 6 course evening meal with Miguel Indurian’s Pinarello Time Trial and his Pinarello road bike on display – these were the bikes that he used when he won the Tour De France on 5 separate occasions, 1991, 92, 93, 94 and 95. After dinner Miguel Indurian gave an excellent presentation about his life and cycling in general (I’m glad that we had Harry to translate). At 1am we then boarded the buses to return to our hotel, it was an early rise the next morning with breakfast at 6am followed by a photo shoot with all the Pinarello dealers in Spain on Pinarello bikes in front of the Team Sky mechanics lorry which had left the Tour De France, crossing the Pyrenees especially to be there at the weekend. The lorry still had a dozen or so of the team rider’s bikes hanging up inside, all with their race numbers attached. We left the hotel at 7am and cycled en mass for 30 minutes to the centre of the town in Vallava where again we had our photos taken by Pinarello. All riders had to sign on just like the start of every stage in the tour before making their way to the start line where we  got to start right at the front with Miguel as we were guests of Pinarello.

The race started promptly at 8.30am and the 2000 riders were soon underway. There were police outriders to the front and rear and at most junctions, the roads were completely closed for the first 50-60k after which the groups had thinned out considerably, the whole race was also televised by helicopter which followed us most of the way. There were many small accidents onroute, including one motorcycle carrying a cameraman which collided with and knocked off 8 cyclists. Passing through all the small towns and villages it was amazing to see all of the inhabitants out cheering us on, this has been a major event for this area for the last 26 years. There was 2 category 3 climbs and one category 2 climb on our route giving a total ascent of 1500metres with a total distance of  106kms and the temperature never rose above 20 degrees which was great for us. After 3 hours we returned to the town centre of Vallava where our group of approx. 20 riders sprinted for the line, I finished with Harry in 3 hours and 3 minutes and were 87^th and 88^th respectively. Steve Buckely 150^th3 hours 13mins and Martin Stone was 331^st3hours 25mins, we were all delighted with our times and where we finished in the field. The event was well sponsored with live music at the end, food for the competitors and many of the large sponsors had tents and were displaying bikes and accessories. There was secure parking for all bikes, free food and drink, and also massages for anyone willing to queue. The prize giving unfortunately was not until 4pm and as it was only 12 noon we decided to cycle back to the hotel to wash, shower and change before heading back to our car to start the long journey home as we were all taking part in our normal Sunday Club ride which starts at 8am.

This was a fantastic weekend which was exceptionally well organized from the start to the finish, it was so nice to meet Miguel Indurain in person and also get the opportunity to cycle with him on the Saturday morning, he is a really nice guy. Pinarello did us proud with their commitment to their own road show and to the Sportif making sure everything went smooth and was a success. Looking forward to next year’s event already .

Team “Cyclogical” meet every Tuesday and Thursday nights at 5.30pm and Sunday mornings at 8am and cover between 90 and 120kms at a moderate to fast pace so  if you fancy a challenge come along  and join us. Looking to improve your fitness,riding ability and speed and also have a new group of friends to train with then why not come along and give it a try or call Gary on 637487377.

Article by: Cyclogical