The Volta á Portugal, 2014

Tags

Aveiro, Águas Boas, carris, cycling, cyclists, national cycling, Oiã, photography, portugal, racing, Tour de France, Volta a Portugal

A couple of weeks after the Volta á Portugal do Futuro passes through Oiã and Carris, the big race, the Volta á Portugal, starts. Normally, the smaller race takes the same route as the main race, which means that we get two national races passing by within a couple of weeks, and few can say that.

This year I wanted to get the more classical front view of the racers, so I picked a spot with a straight piece of road. after the lead cars and the police cyclists had gone by, I waited a couple of minutes and the cyclists were there – and gone! As the race started in Oliveira do Bairro this year, the racers were all clustered together, which meant for 10 minutes of waiting and 30 seconds of excitement.

Advertisements

Volta á Portugal do Futuro 2014

Tags

Aveiro, Águas Boas, carris, cycling, cyclists, national cycling, Oiã, photography, portugal, racing, Tour de France, Volta a Portugal, Volta a Portugal do Futuro

Every year the Volta á Portugal, the Portuguese equivalent of the Tour de France, passes our house in the stage that starts or finishes at Oliveira do Bairro. A couple of weeks earlier, the Volta a´Portugal do Futuro, for new racing cyclists, passes on the same route. This afternoon, we were delighted to see the race go by. Each year I try to find a new place to record the race from, so this year I headed to the bridge over the A1 motorway to see what the vantage would be like.

It was a great spot. After waiting for 10 minutes or so, I heard the sirens from the police motorcycles that accompanied the riders. Soon the first of the riders went past, leading the main pack by 2-3 minutes, at least. This was followed soon after by a smaller bunch of rides and then the main pack. I was so close to the action that I could feel the breeze from the riders as they passed me by. After the racers came the team cars, decked out with their colours and logos, and drawing up the rear an ambulance, just in case there were any injuries.

Once the ambulance had gone by, I thought that was the end of the race, and headed home. On approaching the roundabout near the office, I noticed that the policeman holding up the traffic to allow the riders to go through was still there, listening intently on his radio. I thought there were more riders to come, and sure enough a few stragglers came along. Once the policeman moved away from the roundabout I new that for me, the race was over. Next up, on the 5th August, is the big race, the Volta á Portugal. I’ll be there for that one, too.

You can see the full gallery here.

Volta a Portugal – 5th Stage, Carris and Oiã

Tags

afotografia, carris, cycling, cyclists, national cycling, Oiã, Oliveira do Bairro, photography, portugal, Tour de France, Volta a Portugal

We were lucky enough this year that the Volta a Portugal passed right outside our office. Sadly, when it came to TV coverage, they missed us out, but fortunately we were there to cover the historic day that the Volta a Portugal passed through Carris…

The Summer Sports Season is Beginning

Tags

afotografia, Aveiro, cycling, cyclists, national cycling, Oiã, photography, portugal, racing, Tour de France, Volta a Portugal

Last weekend was the first cycling race of the summer. We’re fortunate that major races, like the Volta a Portugal, the equivalent of the Tour de France, pass Oiã, and one stage of the race finishes in Oliveira do Bairro. The aim of these young racers is to take part in such a race one day…

Volta a Portugal do Futuro in Carris

Tags

afotografia, back roads, carris, cycling, cyclists, main roads, national cycling, portugal, racing, Tour de France, tour du france, Volta a Portugal

Each year, following the Volta a Portugal, the national cycling race similar to the Tour du France, there is a second race for cyclists of the future. Unlike the major race, which stick to the main roads, the Volta a Portugal do Futuro is on the back roads. Fortunately for us, they pass tight outside our office, making this a natural event for us to follow…

74th Volta á Portugal

Tags

Afotografia, Aveiro, cyclists, portugal, racing, Tour de France, Volta a Portugal

Yesterday we were in Aveiro for the start of the Volta á Portugal (like the Tour de France, but in Portugal).