La Vuelta Ciclista - on yer bike, Alcalá!
Spain's international cycling road-race, La Vuelta a España , kicked off yesterday in Jerez de la Frontera. Over the next three weeks nearly two hundred men on wheels will punish their bodies relentlessly over some of Spain's hairiest mountain passes, ending up in Santiago de Compostela. There is much local excitement because the first three stages are taking place in Cádiz province.Today they are touring the Costa de la Luz, from Algeciras to San Fernando, and tomorrow's stage sets off from a Spanish aircraft carrier moored in the port of Cádiz. (This is ostensibly to honour Spain's former monarch , who abdicated recently after a series of scandals. He's kept his job as head of the armed forces, but his relationship with cycling is unclear.) Stage 2 - a nice flat bit The third stage was supposed to come through Alcalá de los Gazules, on the way to Arcos de la Frontera via the daunting crags of the Sierra de Grazalema. Cycling fans and local hostelries