2023-07-03 00:15:03
It is nine o’clock in the morning when the music of Ken Zazpi greets the campers who have spent the night in their caravans in Landa from the speakers of the Etxe Zuri restaurant. Five hours earlier, at four o’clock, Hermelinda Martínez and Jesús López had left the house. Early morning “to avoid problems with roadblocks.” Most avoided them by pedaling along the old Vasco-Navarro route. The other squad, the amateur. The bicycle as an end and as a means.
Also in Elorriaga, the point at which the race began to pick up speed before receiving the flag for the official start in Arkaute, at the height of the Ertzaintza Academy, where some agents came out to say goodbye to the test. The members of the Vitoriana Cycling Society, the dean of the Álava capital, also did it there, who colored the test with their unmistakable pink tones. And equally, on two wheels, Teresa Simkim and her partner Patrick, who arrived from Lincolnshire, in the United Kingdom. They are great fans of cycling and, taking advantage of their trip through the North of Spain to complete the Camino de Santiago, they did not hesitate to come over when they found out that the Tour was passing next to the Parador de Argómaniz, where they were staying.
with pedals
Many followers went by bicycle to Arkaute, Landa and Kruzeta, hot spots on the route
Heat and color for the polychrome snake, which in Alegría was already fragmented with the first escape of the day. Cavagna, Boasson Hagen and Powless passed through Landa so quickly that “we hardly even saw them.” There three hundred fans were dotted by the gutters. Like Gorka Urtaran, former mayor of Vitoria and current provincial deputy for Social Policies, a great lover of cycling who this time changed his bike for one of the official cars of the Tour organization. The final fireworks of the Alava territory was in Kruzeta.
A tide in Kruzeta
Little Basque Switzerland was a rush, in every way. What a great atmosphere that breathed; More than a hobby, what was palpable was devotion to cycling. The runners made their way through a human tide that leveled with cheers and pushes that 12% slope with which the gala round gave its last blows in Alava lands. The ten meters width of the road ended in something more than three, the picture was as overwhelming as it was exciting. And as they climbed this pass the atmosphere became more and more heated with each pedal stroke. A party in its purest form that was uncorked at 1:30 p.m. as the race progressed.
jesus andrade
Not to be missed, not even Celedón was missing, although with a certain French accent. Because Cristóbal Ruiz, Ricardo Ruiz de Apodaca, Luisa Aristimuño, Marisol Ruiz, Conchi Sedano, Joane Ruiz and Salvador Cabello took the yellow umbrella of the Tour to liven up the wait to the sound of the character of the Vitorian festivities. Even the Tour worker hallucinated with the good vibes that are breathed in Kruzeta. Others opted for games of mus or badminton.
But what really gave flavor to the day was the gastronomy. Poor cyclists, the hardest thing for them was surely not getting over this port, but resisting that varied menu of wine, cheese, tortilla… Vicente Mediavilla, Itziar Mediavilla and Zugaitz Ayuso were there preparing some chistorras. «This is the host! It is as if the Champions League final was played in Amorebieta”, compared this crew from Elorrio, prepared to sink their teeth into the Tour.
“I’m getting married!”
Nobody wanted to miss it. And proof of this were the caravans that grew like mushrooms in the free corners of the road. Alaitz Lejarreta, José Luis Corbacho, Etxabarri’s Roberto González, Mikel Goti and Jon Gómez arrived on Friday to ensure their place in the front row. «Having the opportunity to see it in first person is something indescribable. I think we are not yet aware of what this entails.
indelible memory
«This is as if the Champions League final was played in Amorebieta. We are not aware yet”
But beyond the crowd and good atmosphere, the climb to Kruzeta was also full of anecdotes. Like that of José Ocaña, who came from Lanzarote to see the Tour in Álava. Well, they brought him in without him knowing anything. It was the exciting surprise that his brothers Carlos and Justo and his friend Damián Martínez organized for him at the bachelor party. “I’m getting married!” He shared, excited, in the middle of a video call with his future wife. “How you experience cycling in the Basque Country is spectacular.”
Once the race headed towards Gipuzkoa, the vibrant atmosphere gradually returned to normal. And as a farewell, a caravan of fans who headed home by bike. The best finishing touch and tribute to a day that has dressed the Álava public with the yellow jersey.
#rush #amateur #squad