2023-08-26 08:45:33
BarcelonaUnipublic, the company that organizes the Vuelta, likes challenges, spectacle and innovation. For the departure from Barcelona in the team time trial they have nailed the key. At Port Olímpic we will see a 6 x 12 meter methacrylate platform placed between the water and the sand on Somorrostro beach and supported by a structure. Beneath the structure, the cyclists, before the start, will see at their feet through the methacrylate five Catalan skates, the artisanal boats inherited from the tradition of the masters of Aixa that will complete the Mediterranean character of a unique start de la Vuelta, which this Saturday, and for the second time in history, will start pedaling from Barcelona – 61 years after doing so for the last time.
When the cyclists reach the sand they will cycle for 80 meters above another artificial construction 10 meters wide to be able to drive with the best possible grip during the team time trial and reach Marina Street to continue with the urban route of 14.8 km. “The views will be incredible. When I saw it a year and a half ago I said “This is the place”. It will be spectacular”. The statement is expressed by the ideologue of this original departure, Pedro Lezaun, director of production and logistics at Unipublic. Lezaun, a veteran of the Vuelta, follows the trend of recent years to be able to do bold and different things. The Vuelta has had a stage start from inside an aircraft carrier in Cadiz, also from a shoulder in Galicia; the Spanish round has been inaugurated from the salt mountains of Torrevella in Alicante or from inside the cathedral of Burgos. With a joking tone and working at full capacity under the sun to make possible with his team one of the most beautiful exits in recent years, he says to the ARA: “Why would I have put myself in it?”
From Unipublic they understand that sport must evolve and must include shows and challenges that are especially important for cities and to grow the event. “Cycling is a street sport, popular, and it motivates us a lot. That’s why we did what we did. Barcelona is a global city. We came up with the idea and we said “Let’s go, let’s do this crazy thing” and everyone said “Go ahead”, and here we are, sweating like chickens to prepare for the exit. What prevails is the safety of the cyclists, and everything is monitored so that it is so. 50 people have been working on the assembly of the departure platform specifically since Monday.
The other open fronts at the start of the Vuelta a Barcelona
But the start of a great cycling tour by stages like the Vuelta has other open fronts that are assembled in parallel, such as the presentation of the teams on Thursday and the guest area, paddock, parking, village, catering, generator sets and television with 100 more people who were added this Friday to work on the exit. As for Saturday’s finish line, with the end of the team time trial that will begin over the sea, 200 people will work on the arrival of the first stage on Avenida Reina Maria Cristina. Last year at the start of the Vuelta in Utrecht, in the Netherlands, also in August with a team time trial that won the Jumbo-Visma, the start was less spectacular. “I was already looking forward to Barcelona coming to Utrecht,” says Lezaun. But not all proposals go ahead. Asked by ARA about the crazy exit ideas that have not progressed, Lezaun says: “Yes, there are, but I can’t explain them to you.” With the curriculum of original departures in the pilot in Lezaun they already have the size taken. The director of production and logistics of the Vuelta remembers how the general manager of the Movistar team Eusebio Unzué once said to him: “When are you going to throw us out of a plane?” Lezaun answers him laughing: “One of these days…”
Pedro Lezaun will be during the time trial near the starting ramp with his nerves controlled by the experience of so many years, but with the fear in his stomach of whether something will go wrong due to the magnitude of the test. “The lights went out at the Superbowl in 2013 in New Orleans. They had a budget of 80 million dollars and they went out for half an hour. It’s silly, but I like to remember it”, and adds: “Something always happens no matter how hard you work, program or locate. Ours is a moving event and things are always happening. Being an outdoor race we are also very dependent on the weather. It has not rained in Barcelona for three months and there is a forecast of rain for Saturday. I hope it doesn’t rain”, points out Lezaun, with a tone of concern in case the forecast is finally fulfilled.
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