Hello Everyone! I hope you had a good 2013 with lots of bike riding and other fun things. It is a New Year now and let us get started with the first race of the year for 2014 and other goodies associated with being a bad ass on the bike. Suckas beware!
The Vuelta ciclista al Táchira or in English, the Tour of Táchira is a multi-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually each January since 1966 in the state of Táchira in western Venezuela. The Vuelta al Táchira is part of the UCI America Tour, which is one of six UCI Continental Circuits sponsored by the Union Cycliste Internationale (International Cycling Union), which is the sport’s international governing body, and the Venezuelan Cycling Federation. This event takes place during the Festival of Saint Sebastian which dates back to colonial times.
Saint Sebastian (died c. 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. It is said that he was killed during the Roman emperor Diocletian’s persecution of Christians. He is commonly depicted in art, literature and a random music video, tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows. This is the most common artistic depiction of Sebastian; however, according to legend, he was rescued and healed by Irene of Rome. Shortly afterwards he criticized Diocletian in person and as a result was clubbed to death. Saint Sebastian is a popular male saint, especially among soldiers and athletes who often wear his medal as a pious sacramental. He is commonly known as the “Patron Saint of Sports.
The 2013 Vuelta al Táchira had a total of 10 stages. The winner, Yeisson Delgado of the team Kino Táchira, completed the race in 31 hours, 30 minutes, and 47 seconds. Venezuelan riders have a total of 26 trophies in the Vuelta, while Colombia has claimed 19. Riders from throughout the Americas and Europe have traveled to Venezuela to participate in the race. I looked through the history of the race to find a winner from the United States, and the only rider that came close was Viatcheslav Ekimov in 1988, and he was a Soviet back then. In the words of Former President Ronald Reagan, “Mr. Ekimov, keep on riding that bike so the wall will come down.” Or something like that.
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