Vuelta to remember Xavi Tondo at Sierra Nevada

Today, as the Vuelta a España prepares for its first summit finish at Sierra Nevada, it will be three months exactly since Xavi Tondo died in tragic circumstances during an altitude training camp at the same resort. Tondo, sixth in last year’s Vuelta, would almost certainly have been one of the riders to watch on today’s stage, and it is fitting that the Vuelta’s red leader’s jersey will be on the shoulders of his Movistar teammate Pablo Lastras as Spain’s national tour heads up the mountain that towers above Granada.

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Peter Cossins has written about professional cycling since 1993 and is a contributing editor to Procycling. He is the author of The Monuments: The Grit and the Glory of Cycling's Greatest One-Day Races (Bloomsbury, March 2014) and has translated Christophe Bassons' autobiography, A Clean Break (Bloomsbury, July 2014). 

twitter.com/petercossins