Introduction

At the end of the year, when the winter grips Europe with cold, fog and damp, the European "wannabe" racing cyclists start to panic. The hard work throughout the year and investment in developing muscles and superior VO2 is lost in just a few weeks of non activity. At that time their sad eyes turn to the south, to warm inviting places where the sun still provides much needed training, enabling that essential tenth of a second of advantage over their opponents on a club ride in the spring next year. For Europeans, Canary Islands are a perfect winter training place: warm and dry, big climbs, low fare airlines, Spain's subvention of the islands resulting in under average cost of accommodation and living. I'm not too ashamed to admit that I myself had fallen to the fashion this December - I went for a week of cycling in Tenerife.