Straddling March and April, the Volta a Catalunya and the Itzuliathe Vuelta al País Vasco, bring the world's best cyclists to this side of the Pyrenees. Two races that are part of the history of world cycling, with a strong link to the territory, loved and admired by their own people and halfway around the world, and with a track record that that brings together the great figures of the history of cycling.
In this week of impasse, we wanted to travel to the heart of the two races with their two mentors, to describe the uniqueness of their existence, all while savoring the triumph of Sergio Higuita, in a Volta that had a historic journey through the Serra de Prades, between Salou and Cambrils, as Serrat sang in "Decir amigo".
"So much Volta e Itzulia -Rubén Peris, president of the Volta a Catalunya - are organized by a group of friends, being one of the few remaining at this romantic level".
For Julián Eraso, the head of the ItzuliaFor Julián Eraso, the head of the company, "it's as if we were reliving a new miracle every year. We are involved in a super-professionalized racing project, with a very amateur and altruistic organizational group. Every year we start from scratch, always with the help of the institutions, which fortunately do not fail and do not do it, because they see it as we see it, that are our laps and in them we appreciate the spirit of our people and land"..
Searching for the middle ground
Peris openly admits that "I don't know how long we will be able to hold out in this highly professionalized world. It is normal to think that at some point everything will end up in the hands of highly professionalized organizations and I want to believe that it will be for the better, even if that romanticism fades a little".
The head of the Volta continues: "As Julian says, institutions do not fail, because we do not fail, although the day will come when we will, for a vital question. It is difficult to find a replacement, life has changed a lot and it is not easy. The ideal would be to find a middle ground: to maintain a base of volunteerism, with a professional part that executes. Little by little we are finding travel partners for tasks in which you work with professionals, from local councils to suppliers.
But when you look around, you take note of a very different landscape. "In the WT there is a vast majority of professionals, with budgets that dwarf ours. That's where the differential factor of our work lies," adds Julián Eraso, who after the Itzulia After the men's race, the week of April 4-9, he has the women's version in May and, in August, the Klasikoa, the San Sebastian Classic.
And the wheel doesn't stop: "We," says Rubén Peris, "have already spoken with towns for 2023 and 2024, but the route doesn't always come out the way you want it to, fitting the pieces of the puzzle together without the neutralizations conditioning too much".
They have one thing in their favor, both races are a spectacle and the people want them in their streets: "Both the Volta and the Itzulia both sound good to the city councils. In general we are well received. We perceive the closeness of the people and of the towns and that fills us up", says Julián Eraso, in the middle of an agenda full of commitments, transfers and presentations, looking for time that he doesn't have to give us that brushstroke that draws the miracle of organizing a cycling race in the present times.
Bonus Track
The creators of the band sonora of the Volta a Catalunya, explain us their experience after winning the contest and put the music to this Catalan race.
