Luis Angel Maté of ProTeam Euskaltel-Euskadi, 37-year-old who completed his 10th Vuelta (30th place) and his 16th Grand Tour has set off with a friend, on a backpacker ride (1000km) from Santiago de Compostela to his home in Marbella... after racing the Vuelta of over 3,500km. He describes himself as "still hungry for more", planning on riding the course of six days, dubbing his ride the 'Vuelta de la Vuelta'. He is inspired by the 'Camino' pilgrimage trail that ends in Santiago...
"When I saw the Vuelta was finishing in Santiago de Compostela, the idea of doing an adventure like this immediately sprang to mind. It seemed a unique opportunity to be able to enjoy the bike in a different way to competition and all the stress, the braking, the crashes, the watts.
For me, cycling is more than a sport or a job; it's a way of understanding life and knowing who you are. This will be a period of decompression in which I'll have time to gain perspective on a number of things, both thinking about nothing at all, as well as thinking about many of the things we've achieved in the past days.
I've told myself I'll arrive by Saturday at midday to have a dip in the sea and a meal at home."
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