Spanish hotels and Vuelta

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Gesink on his twitter:

At the hotel they were last night, they send back the pasta 3 times because it wasn't good. Then Gesink and Tankink went to check in the kitchen, and saw the chef pick up fallen pasta from the ground and still use it!

Enough for the whole Rabobank squad to get up and leave to a nearby restaurant where they DID have decent food.
If that wasn't enough, when Gesink went to his hotel room it turned out his bed was more like a 50cm bunker. He threw his matras on the ground and simply slept there

I wonder how the Vuelta organisation can put the team of the nr 2 in the general classification in such a bad place?

 

[franciep10]

Gesink on his twitter:

At the hotel they were last night, they send back the pasta 3 times because it wasn't good. Then Gesink and Tankink went to check in the kitchen, and saw the chef pick up fallen pasta from the ground and still use it!

Enough for the whole Rabobank squad to get up and leave to a nearby restaurant where they DID have decent food.
If that wasn't enough, when Gesink went to his hotel room it turned out his bed was more like a 50cm bunker. He threw his matras on the ground and simply slept there

I wonder how the Vuelta organisation can put the team of the nr 2 in the general classification in such a bad place?

When I was riding the management picks the accommodations, I don't know how they do it now.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

The hotel assignments are made long before the race ever starts.

Susan

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Yup exactly, that's why it's unbelievable they put teams in such bad hotels sometimes

 

[Bala Verde]

Lots of riders complain about their accomodations - ie TdF, Giro, Vuelta - and in most cases it seems they are justified in doing so. What I have picked up from reading cyclist's reports they often get dumped in second rate 'hotels'.

Compare that to the hotels where soccer players stay when they are playing an away match. Cycling is not a glamorous sport, but some improvements could definitely be made. I mean, they are on a bike 6 hrs a day, for 3 weeks, so a minimum standard of great, healthy food and a good bed should be guaranteed, no matter where you decide to organise the start/finish. If you can't do that, then you should get your act together or not hold the race there.

 

[Cal_Joe]

I had a chance to talk to some of the European riders at a Tour of California - they were all having breakfast at the (in)famous Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. They all raved about the great hotels and food - some said they would be back based solely on that. The consensus was that most of the places they stayed at in Europe sucked.

 

[powderpuff]

One of the main problems is the logistics of trying find accommodation of a decent standard for almost 1000 people (riders, support, Tour staff etc) each night within close proximity to either the finish or the start for the next stage. It is not uncommon for riders to have a couple hour commute after the race to get to their hotel. Obviously bigger budgets are going to be able to afford luxuries like their own chefs etc. Don't forget how many spectators follow the race too. All in all they do an amazing job just running the race. (well most of them)

 

[Big_Blue_Dave]

If you read Dan Martin's website, which is basically his blog, at http://www.dan-martin.org then you will be able to read his thoughts on the subject of Spanish hotels.

To keep it short he is not a happy chappy and thinks Garmin are being stiffed on hotel assignments. But, its an interesting read.

 

[BroDeal]

Gesink on his twitter:

At the hotel they were last night, they send back the pasta 3 times because it wasn't good. Then Gesink and Tankink went to check in the kitchen, and saw the chef pick up fallen pasta from the ground and still use it!

And people wonder why the riders seem to often get stomach bugs at the Vuelta...

I had a chance to talk to some of the European riders at a Tour of California - they were all having breakfast at the (in)famous Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. They all raved about the great hotels and food - some said they would be back based solely on that. The consensus was that most of the places they stayed at in Europe sucked.

Those same thoughts were being expressed back in the Tour de Trump/Tour Dupont days.

The problem is that there just is not that much money in cycling. That was one of the things that the ProTour aimed to fix.

 

[RhodriM]

Some poor choices then, just got back from Spain(and watching the Vuelta) and the food was generally great. Then again it's not exactly health food, especially when it sometimes only seems to come with beer, and after 10pm at that...

 

[knewcleardaze]

Big_Blue_Dave

Thanks for posting link to Dan Martin's site.Informative reading.