Astana Cycling Team

Sunday, 29th August 2010

Hello from Mijas, a little “white village” between Marbella and Malaga on the Mediterranean sea, where we joined our daughter and beloved grand-children in their new home, following the circuit of the Vuelta.

All photos by Kahane

As Arsen told me some Kazakh fans are interested in knowing more about the team hotel, as well as technical and logistic details, I took many pictures for you all because it was our last day on the Vuelta. But every good thing has an end.

Last night in Sevilla took place a fiesta along the TTT circuit. For a lot of people it was an opportunity to take advantage of the relative coolness (30°C) of the night! The Sevillians were celebrating on a week-end the first ever departure of the Vuelta in their city, and people were singing, dancing, drinking and enjoying life.

The Astana riders were disappointed by their performance but it did not affect too much the team morale. Never look back and concentrate on the future!
After the team time trial, the riders returned to their hotel on their own bikes around midnight, and the soigneurs spent two more hours washing all the outfits in the bus washing machine.

The place in Sevilla where the riders stayed four nights was a huge four-star hotel. The rooms, that the riders always occupy by two (except on big races where there are 9 riders in a team, so there is always one rider alone) are comfortable and all alike. The staff share rooms in the following pattern: always one mechanic with one soigneur.
It was a big hotel with 650 rooms on 6 floors, two large lounges, an outdoor swimming pool surrounded by clumps of flowers and green plants, a bar, a cafeteria, and a large buffet restaurant where the riders had all their meals.

As today’s stage departure was set for 13:20 on the outskirts of Sevilla, the riders could sleep in and have breakfast around 10 a.m., while the soigneurs started early morning dealing with all suitcases, packing them in the team truck.

The Vuelta Astana team has one technical truck, one big brand new bus, one minibus, and three cars, so six vehicles altogether.
It’s Valentin Dorronsoro who picked up the brand new bus in Girona (Spain) last Thursday. The external bus livery with the Astana paint scheme and sponsor decals was done in Spain, while the internal fittings and furnishings (including washing machine, shower and toilet facilities, etc.) were done in Lyon (France) by a specialist in this kind of work. It’s very comfortable and convenient and the riders love their bus.
It’s a real beauty as you’ll see for yourself on the photos.

Bye for now dear friends from Kazakhstan and as we say in French “ce n’est qu’un au revoir”! We must now switch to our job of grand-parents!

Bye for now and kind regards to you and your family.
Christine