Back at the apartment we have a cup of coffee. We check the route once more and get ourselves ready for the ride to Jaén. I won't make the same mistake twice, and put on enough clothing so the cold won't bother me this time. Marc gets an SMS from Wicky that the cyclingsite is 'down', so he needs to do some work on the phone first to make sure that the 3,000 members or so get access to their favorite web-address. A few buns and some drinks set us up for the rest of the afternoon and we're off.

We need to get to Jaén first, over one hundred kilometers to the north of Granada. Again, this journey offers some spectacular views along the way. The closer we get, the more beautiful the countryside gets in this region, well known for its olive plantations that stretch across vast areas.

When we're close to Jaén we quickly check the map: We need to get onto exit 40. A little surprise sets in as exit 42 shows up, which isn't on our map. Before we realise what's going on, we've gone past Jaén altogether. Exit 40 no longer exists. So it's on to the next opportunity to turn around, which takes miles and finally get to the Jaén exit ramp. We've made it there exactly on time.

All the Vuelta signs are up as soon as we leave the highway, so the road is pretty clear from here: Just follow those signs! That plan is excellent, unless you come across a one way street, leading in the other direction. So, coming to a T-crossing, we have to turn right where we wanted to go left. What to do? "Ask that policeman" I suggest, when I see a Guardia Civil-guy standing to the left of us. Marc jumps out and his knowledge of the Spanish language again helps us take the hurdle. The detour isn't too hard to find, soon we're back on track and see the Vuelta-signs reappearing. No more problems until we reach our final destination.

When we get to Los Villares, the masses have all come out to watch the circus pass by.

Marc's camera is already hanging out the window to take pictures, which leads to many waving Spaniards. A few shots are taken, of course the intermediate-sprint 'bow' needs to be photographed as well. We ascend the immediately following second category climb leading to the Pandera.

On this mountain, many consider this a day out as well. A band is playing in one of the wider turns, loadsa people having a good time there. A bicycle, high in a post, is also a very funny vision on the way up, yet we need to keep moving as we think that the riders are not far behind us. A very short descend gets us at the base of the Pandera. One very resolute hand-sign by the Guardia Civil forbids us to take a left turn up the mountain. That is so disappointing! What to do now?

We drive on for a few hundred meters and decide to get back to the climb we just came off of and find a parking space there. We however don't know how much time we've got left to get there. Fortunately it doesn't take very long to find a suitable spot for the car.

Marc walks down to the turn to see if that part is possibly more suited for photos, but he soon returns. The wait is actually longer than expected, when the sound of a helicopter announces the race. The whole army of policemen we saw this morning now rides past us very fast, followed by 'the red flags'. The lead group is Egoi Martinez and Joaquin Rodriguez, Martinez is setting the pace and clearly looking to make sure of the KOM jersey. No much later the peloton rides past, all the GC-riders still present and the bunch nearly complete. Two 'busses' shortly behind them complete our adventure on this mountain: The whole circus went past us within the timespace of 17 minutes.

Any mineralwater, boys?

"It's a shame that we now don't know what happens" is the first remark I make after getting back into the car. A feel of 'anti-climax' comes over me. "You should have been at home, watching TV", Marc laughingly answers. I can see the humor in that, and quickly lose the feeling. Peter has seen a few spots with an excellent view of the valley and wants to take a picture here. He stops, gets out, curses a tree exactly in the way of a beautiful shot of the valley, and gets back in the car.
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A little further down the mountain there's another spot and we can only just park the car behind the Gerolsteiner coach, occupying the parking space. On getting out I can see the door opened up. Peter gets his picture, while I get bold for a second time that day and walk to the coach.

At the door I call in my best German tongue: "Hallo!" No reaction whatsoever from the dark bus, while I DO hear some noise, probably the sound of a TV. As I can't imagine the bus is being abandoned with the door open, I step onto the first step and see two feet, hanging over my head. "Hallo?" I call out for a second time and see the feet changing into a head, with an expression like a big questionmark on it. He doesn't say anything, but because of his facial expression I continue: "Können wir hier die fernsehen anschauen?" (Can we watch the TV here?) He responds with: "Mit wieviel sind sie?" (How many of you are there?) "Mit drei" (Three persons) I answer. "Okay" he says, and starts clearing the seats to accommodate us. I jump off the steps and call Marc and Peter.  They briefly look at eachother, wondering what the hell I'm up to. "Come, we're going to see the final to the Pandera-stage inside the Gerolsteiner coach!", I respond with a big grin on my face.

We get on board and take a seat in the full leather seats which this coach is equipped with. Marc has to wait briefly as his seat is being cleared too. These are very comfortable seats indeed and the TV is tuned to the German Eurosport channel, built into a console at the top of the coach. I have a look round the bus and see the massage benches at the back and also a box, with the riders' shoes. We of course thank the driver for his hospitality and soon the developements in the race draw our attention. The first thing we see is a square pedalling Vinokourov but haven't got a clue where he's at in the race. It's four kilometers to the finish and our timing is perfect again! Kashechkin and Gomez Marchante appear to ride in front of Vino, who, in his turn, is followed by Valverde and Sastre. We knew this was a 'bitch' of a climb, it appears to be a battlefield with many victims. Not much later Kashechkin is allowed to take the win, while hugging Vino when crossing the line: The Astana-coup is complete. Vino has won this Vuelta, despite his bad fifth stage result.

I have to be honest: I get very exited and enthousiastic when realising that we can see the decision in the Vuelta a España while inside the Gerolsteiner team-coach, in Spain. What a day! After the first ten riders have crossed the line we turn our focus to the kind coach driver.

We have a short conversation about the Gerosteiner team and their ambitions in the stages to come. Haussler in the nineteenth and Förster in the last stage is what he expects also. At that time we didn't know that Haselbacher already had gone "heim", so the driver updates us. Of course a photograph needs to be made and after thanking the guy once again and wishing him well for the remainder of the trip, we leave the coach. Man, Gerolsteiner has gained a few new fans!

This time we make an exception and acually pose with the Gerol-bus. Laughing because of the way this day has developed we return to our car and drive back home.

Epilogue

At night we opt for an original Spanish pizza and I feel full. It's not just the pizza that fills me, it's this Vuelta-day also. I love this race, I'm sold, and decide there and then that i'm going to write about this trip. As there are many events, impressions and situations to describe, I realise that it will probably be a trilogy at the end.
The next day is spent at 2,500 meters altitude, having a good mountain-walk on the Pico Veleta, a climb of 44 kms. from Granada.

We also visit Peter's favorite area lateron, the Alpujarras, which is a truly beautiful area with sheer endlessly winding and sometimes very steep roads. At night we have a fabulous meal at Marc's favorite restaurant, just outside of Granada. We toast to a great week in Spain.

p.s.:
I hope you enjoyed this personal view of Spain and the Vuelta as much as i've had writing it for you. Thanks for reading!

Martin, a.k.a. 'DZI'