GreenEDGE Travel – La Vuelta 2019

Welcome to Spain!

This morning we meet you at Madrid airport for the 1.5 hour air-conditioned transfer to our hotel for the next four nights in Segovia.

Once you’ve checked in and freshened up, you’ll meet with former GreenEDGE road captain and dual La Vuelta Stage winner, Stuart O’Grady who will be your host for the exciting week ahead!

While you’re settling in our staff will assemble your bike before the group set off for short easy ride with Stuart to ensure bikes are set up correctly and ready to go for the tour ahead.

It’s a rest day at La Vuelta which is perfect for our planned team ‘Meet & Greet’ with Mitchelton-SCOTT. Following the meet & greet and team bus tour, we will stay on to dine at the team hotel where will be joined by some of the key staff behind the teams success!

Today’s stage from Aranda de Duero to Guadalajara is relatively flat for its 200km duration, although it passes an altitude of 1400m’s throughout its course! It should be one for the sprinters, however a plucky break away group may just be able to stay away to the finish…hopeful for some, but unlikely.

We will head to the start village where Stuart will take you to see the ‘sign on’ and soak up the atmosphere, noise and colour. It’s a great opportunity for to get photos with riders, team cars, bikes and staff as they make their preparations for the stage ahead. Once the gun goes and riders set off, the entire village is quickly dismantled and shipped to its next location.

We’ll catch a glimpse of the ‘bump out’ and then start a ride of our own. Aranda de Duero is surrounded by vineyards so we will finish our ride with lunch and wine tasting in a local establishment, where Stuey will share some of his stories from his time at La Vuelta!

After lunch we will transfer you back to the hotel to catch the finish together on TV and hear Stuey’s thoughts and predictions!

It’s a tough day for the pros today with four major climbs, all Cat 1 (hard as it gets)!

It’s going to be be EPIC and as the second last big mountain day, it is inevitable that the GC riders will be closely watching each other whilst also trying to pounce on the attack with a winning move. Today could well be the day that the eventual winner takes control and stamps their authority on the field. Look out for an early breakaway followed by the GC riders hovering at their limit of human frailty. The roadside crowds will be loud, colourful and full of vigor as we are close to the populist Madrid.

We offer several ride distance options today. Those looking for a longer ride will head to Rascafria 50kms away and then ride back up the final climb of the day to watch the race, under the guidance of Stuey. Post race we can even roll downhill home, clocking up a total of 100kms.

Riders looking for a little less can choose between riding to the top of the last climb, continuing on and descending through to Rascafria (where the race passes through twice) and then either calling it a day there or adding on the extra climb for summit viewing with a vehicle transfer home: 35-50-70km.

Post stage we will transfer you back to our hotel to freshen up before a well earned cool beverage and dinner.

After a leisurely breakfast we will transfer, part way to our final stop of Toledo where today’s stage finish will be. From there we will jump on the bikes with Stuey to complete the trip on a high!

We will pull up the vans as we intersect with the course near Escalona and then ride on the course to the finish line in Toledo.

It will surely be a sprint finish for the pros today, with a little berg straight from the gun, followed by a long descent before the final 60kms which offer an essentially flat run in to the line. We will be in Toledo to see the fast men battle it out for bragging rights, as today’s stage, and the final in Madrid, deem their last opportunities.

We will ride the final 60kms of today’s stage directly on the race route and perhaps even manage a little sprint of our own on the finish line. On arrival we’ll have some time to explore this beautiful town packed with cobbled streets and narrow lane ways. Time to grab some local fare for lunch all before the main event of seeing the Pros come flying down the finish to claim the prize.

Post race we transfer back to our hotel for our last night in Segovia.

Today is the day we find out who will win La Vuelta 2019! It’s the final climbing stage, with a summit finish and we’ll be right there to witness the final fight to its peak! We will position ourselves roadside on Plataforma de Gredos as we’ll get to see the riders make their first ascent of the climb at the 110km mark and then again as they tackle it for the final time at 189km.

With loud and passionate voices we will cheer our champion home and hopefully a Mitchelton-SCOTT back-to-back victory. The hill will be a hive of fans buzzing from a great day out and not one to be missed!

On conclusion of the stage, we will transfer to our new hotel in Madrid for the remaining two nights on tour.

Today is the day we see the winner of La Vuelta 2019 take the top step in Madrid! It’s going to be HUGE.

We will position ourselves in the thick of it, roadside and cheer our champions home, along with like-minded passionate fans!

Following the final stage, Stuart will lead the group into the team bus compound for some well earned refreshments at the Mitcheton-SCOTT bus where hopefully we’ll be raising our glasses to a repeat victory alongside the team. ¡Salud!

After experiencing the excitement of seeing the La Vuelta 2019 Champion crowned, followed by enjoying the post-race festivities and your final evening in the vibrant city of Madrid, it’ll be time to say adiós!

Following breakfast and check-out, our GreenEDGE Travel staff will transfer you to Madrid airport. Thank you for joining us on tour to witness the incredible final week of La Vuelta!