It may not be quite as big as the Tour de France, but to the competitors from Spain and particularly, the Canary Islands, the Vuelta A La Isla De Tenerife, is a very important event on the cycling calendar. The second stage took off from Adeje town on September 4 with a 1.30 pm start from Calle Grande.

Ahead of the cyclists there was a 93.5 km slog up the west coast to El Sauzal, just part of the total 321 kms. As the chain of riders headed off to Playa San Juan, Los Gigantes and up north to Santiago del Teide,and Icod before reaching El Sauzal, it became clear that the riders of Fuerteventura were mounting a serious assault on the race, grabbing the first 2 places. Antonio Olmo (pic) took the yellow jersey in a time of 2 hours, 28 minutes and 43 seconds, with his fellow islander Joaquin Ortega just 24 seconds behind him. With 2 days to go Antonio is in the overall lead as well.

It’s just one of many sporting challenges that can be seen in Costa Adeje, this May saw the first Adeje triathlon, not just cycling, but also swimming and running. That event is confined to a circuit in the La Caleta area and is to become a regular part of the annual sporting calendar.