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The Region & Climate...
Our
Early Bird and Graham
Baxter Training
camps are based on the Spanish mainland in Costa Blanca.
It is a known fact that the weather is much warmer than other
parts of Europe, and is the reason why many of the top professional
teams use the area for their pre season training.
The roads are
of good quality and there is a choice of either coastal, hilly
and even mountainous rides, with some roads going to 1,200 metres.
For Mountain Bikers,
the Costa Blanca & Sierra Espuña
offer an excellent variety of both single track and wide forest
trails.
 
Accommodation...
We
shall be using the excellent Albir
Garden
complex as we have done for several years for the Early
Bird No frills and our Graham
Baxter training camps.
The
Albir Garden:
 The hotel complex is set in beautiful
gardens and also includes a heated indoor swimming pool, gym,
tennis court, launderette and conference room. There are plans
to upgrade the gym and open a Sauna & Spa, all of which should
be open for when our training camps start.
Each apartment
is modern and equipped with a twin bedroom, separate lounge with
double sofa bed, bathroom, kitchen, and balcony. Prices are for 2 or 3 persons
sharing an apartment
The accommodation
at the Albir Garden is on Half Board basis (Evening Meal, B&B).
The hotels buffet style
arrangements for breakfast & evening meal will satisfy the hungriest of cyclists.
Bring
the kids...
 The
Albir Garden is ideal for all the family and in fact many riders
brought
their wives & children last year (ask for our child prices).
Some of
the facilities of the Albir Garden:
(Click
on the images for larger versions) |
The Apartment |
The Restaurant |
The Gym |
The Swimming Pool |
Flights & Transfers…
Flights will
be to Alicante airport (for Albir Garden camps)
More details
of flights and transfers can be found on the detailed training
camps pages.
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The
Champions Choice...
Over
the past years our training camps have gained an excellent
reputation amongst the
cycling world, and have become the choice of many cycling
champions:
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| Robert
Millar |
Tour
de France King of the Mountains, 1984 |
| Alejandro
Valverde |
3rd
2003 Vuelta a Espana, & 2nd 2003 World Pro Road
Race |
| Marcel
Wust |
Stage
winner in Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, Vuelta Espana |
| Bradley
Wiggins |
Credit
Agricole Pro & Olympic Gold Medalist (Athens & Bejing) |
| Matt
White |
Cofidis
Pro and Ex Team mate of Lance Armstrong |
| Juan
Carlos Guillamon |
2002
Spanish Nacional Pro Champion |
| Neil
Stephens |
Tour
de France stage winner |
| Jamie
Burrow |
AMORE
E VITA and ex team mate of Lance Armstrong |
| Sean
Yates |
Tour
de France stage winner & wearer of the yellow jersey |
| Martin
Earley |
Tour
de France & Giro d'Italia stage winner |
| Allan
Peiper |
Tour
de France rider |
| Dominique
Arnould |
Tour de
France stage winner & world cyclo cross champion |
| Yvonne
McGregor |
Olympic
bronze medalist (Individual pursuit, Sydney 2000) and World
Champion (Individual pursuit, Manchester 2000) |
| Jonny
Clay |
Olympic
bronze medalist (Team pursuit, Sydney 2000) |
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PLUS:
Jonny
Clay, Sid Barras, Graham Jones, Dudley Hayton, Yvonne McGregor,
Henk Djerneis, Nick Craig, Carolina Alexander, Rob Hayles,
Barrie Clarke,
Chris Walker
Linda McCartney Team, Team Brite, American Eagle MTB Team, Team Raleigh
WCPP Olympic Team Pursuit members, WCPP Olympic MTB Team |
Matt
White (US Postal) attended one of our training camps
in 2003 (Pictured here with Neil Stephens)
All
Abilities…
The term "Training
Camp" can give the average cyclist the misconception that you need to
be a super fit elite rider in order to attend. This could not be further
from the truth, as all our training camps cater for all types of cyclists
be they tourers, racers or international standard. We generally have enough
cyclists for 3 to 4 different group rides each day, thus catering for all
standards. Some riders like to use the camps for warmer weather riding rather
than training.
What
the Camps include (Albir Garden Camps)...
- Half-Board
accommodation (bed, buffet breakfast evening meal)
- Airport
transfers to and from Alicante airport
- Free
use of all the hotel facilities (indoor swimming pool and
gym).
- Well
structured daily group rides catering for all abilities
- Notice
board with runs list for all groups, with maps of the area
and ride profiles
- On
the bike skills classes & positioning
- Knowledgeable
guides with each group who know the roads
- Free
mechanical service from an experienced mechanic equipped
with a full set of tools
to make sure
your bike is kept
in tip top condition for the duration of your stay.
- Free
bicycle wash station
- 1 Free
massage from a qualified sports masseur / physio. Further
massages available at reduced price.
- Organised
seminars and lectures from the very best in your sport
- Spare
bikes / test bikes supplied by Cannondale
- Complementary
Free energy products from Science in Sport (S.I.S.)
- A selection
of Turbo Trainers for use.
- Free
bike lube
- Camp
shop with discount prices on SiS product, Sporting Tours
clothing,
bike
spares
- Massage
service included
- Mechanical
service included
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Massage service included
Mechanical
service included
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Marcel Wust
at the notice board
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An S.I.S
seminar in progress
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A Cannondale spare/test bike |
The Sporting
Tours camp shop
Our programme
for 2010/2011 is as follows:
 Graham
Baxter Training Camps (Costa Blanca) - 6th to 20th March 2010
Majorca
Riding Weeks incorporating Vet's & Ladies with Sid Barras -
12th to 26th March 2010
Long
Distance Bike Camp (Lanzarote) - 17th to 24th June 2010
International
Bike Weeks, Gunnar Asmussen, Rolf Aldag, Tom Kristensen & Herman" The
Artist", Jakob Piil & Andreas Klier (Lanzarote) -
5th to 19th November 2010
Etape
du Tour winter training camp (Gran Canaria) - 7th to 21st
January 2011
Bike
Weeks with Geoff Cooke, Ain-Alar Juhanson & Team (Lanzarote) -
10th to 24th February 2011
See Also:
Our Etape
du Tour training weekends in the
Yorkshire Dales may be of interest not only to people preparing
for the Etape du Tour, but for other Cyclo Sportive events
such as the Gran Fondos.
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