Cycling Preparation and Training Camps - Graham Baxter Sporting Tours

The Region & Climate...
All our 2008 Preparation & Training camps are based on the Spanish mainland in Costa Blanca and the Castellon region, 1hrs drive from Valencia.

It is a known fact that the weather is much warmer than Majorca and has less wind than Lanzarotte, 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 March preparation and training camps.

The Vet's and Ladies Riding Week will be held in the region of Castellon, at the 4* Hotel Orange.

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 (Albir Garden camps), or Valencia, (Vets and Ladies camp).

More details of flights and transfers can be found on the detailed training camps pages.

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:
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 2004)
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)
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)

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

Massage service included (Copyright photo)
Massage service included

Mechanical service included


Marcel Wust at the notice board	An S.I.S seminar in progress

	A Cannondale spare/test bike

The Sporting Tours camp shop

Our programme for 2008 is as follows:

The Early Bird No Frills Camp - 5th January to 1st March 2008

Albir Gardens Preparation & Training Camps - 1st to 29th March 2008

The Vets & Ladies Bike Week New Venue - Castellon - 29th March to 12th April 2008

Club La Santa (Lanzarote) - January Training Camp - 10th to 24th January 2008

Club La Santa (Lanzarote) - Tony Doyle Bike Camp - 14th to 28th February 2008

Andy Cook Training Camp (Majorca) - 29th February to 14th March 2008

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.