Spanish pro has set off on 1000km ride home after finishing Vuelta a España

Spanish rider Luis Ángel Maté has set off on a ride of 1000km from Santiago de Compostela to his home in Marbella after racing the Vuelta a España 2021.

Maté, who rides for Spanish UCI ProTeam Euskaltel-Euskadi, completed his 10th Vuelta and his 16th Grand Tour in his long career, finishing 30th in the general classification.

But the 37-year-old has decided to set off on a 1000km ride to Marbella after riding over 3,500km in the Vuelta. 

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In his Rouleur column, he said: "When I saw the the Vuelta was finishing in Santiago de Compostela, the idea of doing an adventure like this immediately sprang to mind."

He added that the 'Camino' pilgrimage from the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela inspired him to attempt this ride and that he was still "hungry for more" calling his ride the 'Vuelta de la Vuelta'.

"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..."

This is seemingly becoming a trend in pro cycling after Tim Wellens and Thomas De Gendt (both Lotto-Soudal) both rode around 1000km home to Belgium after riding the Monument, Il Lombardia in 2018.

De Gendt and Wellens set off from northern Italy on and spent six days trekking across Europe.

The Lotto-Soudal hard men were set back by just two punctures during the week, the final one striking five kilometres from home.

After finishing what they dubbed ‘The Final Breakaway’, De Gendt said: “I’m happy to be home, but it has been a great adventure and a wonderful experience.

“Despite the luggage we carried on our bike, we still had an average speed of more than 30 kilometres per hour this week."

Maté set off on his ride on Monday, September 6, a day after finishing the Vuelta, and is now currently riding through Portugal with a friend. He has small bags on his Orbea bike as he stays in hotels throughout his ride.

"I've told myself I'll arrive by Saturday [September 11] at midday to have a dip in the sea and a meal at home," Maté said.