This week i will be riding the Andalucía Bike Race in southern Spain. It’s a six day stage race based around the cities of Cordoba and Jaen. I am racing in the mixed pairs category with WXC world team rider Cait Elliot.

Today is the registration day so we took the opportunity to get out for a quick spin to open up the legs. The trails are only 5 minutes ride away and we found some super fast single track as well as some techy rocky trails. 

Post-ride we took the opportunity to explore Cordoba and sample the Tapas and Cerveza whilst sitting in the sunshine. Today the mercury reached 25 degrees: perfect cycling weather!

The race is based in the same 4-star hotel for the first three stages. So far the organisation has been amazing. We were greeted on the door by the PR staff after our transfer from the airport was nice and easy. There are bike washes, signs every where, TV coverage for the race (including a TV helicopter which landed in the hotel grounds this afternoon), brilliant route descriptions, chip timing and good prize money for the mens and womens events. The promoters have a background in rally organisation and this is their first attempt at a stage race but so far the standards seems to be very high.

If the first day is anything to go by then the rest of the week should be great. I will reporting back every day and will hopefully be able to post helmet cam footage of each stage

Josh Ibbett

www.joshibbett.com