Spaniard will ride Gran Fondo run by Tour de France organisers
He’s been a long time away from the sport but five-time Tour de France champion Miguel Indurain is set to saddle up once again early next month. The Spaniard has been confirmed for the Gran Fondo style La Etapa Argentina, run by the Tour de France organisers ASO, and his presence will boost what is expected to be a strong turnout for the two day event.
La Etapa Argentina gets underway on October 8th in Mendoza, where the riders will cover 125 kilometres on a mainly-flat route. They will need to scale just one category four climb during the ride, thus enabling those new to the sport to take part.
Day two covers an almost identical distance, being half a kilometre shorter, and also has a similar profile. The riders will scale the third category Cumbre climb approximately halfway through.
In 1995, Indurain joined Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault in winning five Tours de France, although he became the first to take those titles consecutively. He also won two editions of the Giro d’Italia, broke the world hour record and was world and Olympic time trial champion. He retired in January of 1997 and hasn’t ridden much since.
That will change on day one of the event, when he will once again turn the pedals. “The presence of this exceptional guest at the first stage of La Etapa Argentina by Le Tour de France will provide a unique opportunity for the riders to compete against one of history’s best cyclists and for the public to admire and applaud this legend of world cycling,” said the organisers.
Indurain’s return mimics that of another former Tour winner, Jan Ullrich. He has been doing Gran Fondos of late, and is training more than he has done in many years.
More information can be found on www.laetapaargentina.com.