This year, the 76th edition of La Vuelta begins in Burgos and ends in Santiago de Compostela on 5th September, after having completed more than 3,400 kilometers of route.
The pro cyclists and the teams will not be alone, Shimano will be there one more year, and they are already 21 years at Vuelta giving their most, will be one of the main sponsors of the event and will play a leading role offering all riders the Technical Assistance Service in the race, thanks to its experienced team of mechanics.
The Neutral Cars program is a really important project for Shimano that was forged at the beginning of the XXI century and that little by little has spread throughout the world, offering assistance in the most important competitions such as Giro, Tour, World Cups or Olympic Games, in addition to La Vuelta of course.
Shimano & la Vuelta
Here in Spain, Julio Gallego is responsible for Shimano Iberia's neutral assistance cars and neatly coordinates a team of 13 people, all of them closely linked to cycling and with extensive experience in this discipline. In the team we can find former professional racers, business managers in the industry and professional mechanics, who combine their activity with Shimano neutral cars. All of them have their role within the team well defined, and watching the dedication and precision with which they carry out their tasks, is undoubtedly something any lover of this sport will enjoy.
At a logistical level, for such a great challenge like La Vuelta, Shimano uses 4 cars and 2 motorcycles in the race, plus an auxiliary assistance vehicle. At the material level, at each stage 24 bicycles equipped with the most advanced Shimano components are made available to the teams (some of them adjusted according to the measurements of the best classified riders in the general ranking), 22 pairs of Dura Ace wheels (for disc brakes and rim brakes). Also, depending on the race situation, many of the riders who cannot get close to their team car come to us for bottles of cold water or some sports nutrition products.
A curious fact related to the Shimano Iberia Neutral Assistance team: during these 20 years of professional activity we estimate that we have carried out nearly 5000 “performances” in the race, both for professional and amateur cyclist, allowing them to continue in the race or meet the goal set in most cases.
Shimano's Neutral Assistance Service is the ultimate expression of our philosophy and aims to demonstrate Shimano's commitment to this fantastic sport and to be able to give back all that it has contributed to Shimano as a brand. Our maxim is always the same: regardless of the place, to be where the cyclists are.
