24 Doce, Spain’s version of the UK’s best 24hr race was unsuprisingly my event of the year so far! 4 pasty Brit’s versus hordes (800+) of farmer boy tanned Spaniards on a super-fast course on the edge of Madrid (and just round the corner from Trek Spain’s HQ). I hear it’s a great city, but we sadly had no time for sightseeing, it was fly in, seal the deal and fly back home.
Now you don’t see Bruyneel or Lefevre taking pulls at the front, so we didn’t expect too much of our director sportif. Charlie leaked time on the climbs but still ripped it up on the descents. With some Race x lite wheels soon to arrive for his Hifi Pro 29 there’ll be no more excuses when he’s heading uphill!
Dusty trails and 40 degree heat (104f) aren’t things we’re used too, but night riding is and with our new Exposure lights the night laps were amazing fun! The course was rocky, sandy swoopy, dusty and floaty. Exactly why we made the trip - to avoid the mud of UK 24hr races!
Amid a sea of Euro hardtails I only spotted two other 29ers during the entire event, the Spanish still have a lot to learn about the big wheel revolution. They do know how to put on a great event though - being able to grab an ice cold drink at the bar in the change-over area after every lap was sweet as.
Me and Matt tried our best to stay on terms with Phil’s storming lap times, but when he blasted out three 25 min laps on Sunday morning we had to accept our place as the domestiques of the team. 49 laps were just enough to bag us 2nd place on the podium and spark discussions of going back next year for the win and how to offset our carbon emissions for the flights…
