The Alberto Contador Foundation will do the Way of St. James with all its riders

The Alberto Contador Foundation has called all its 2017 staff to carry out a special ‘team building camp’, which will consist of walking the last four stages of the Way of St. James, from the Galician town of Sarria, with the aim to offer to its riders the opportunity to know one of the most important pilgrimage routes of humanity, while sharing a few days of coexistence and effort that will serve as a setting to meet the challenges of the next cycling season.

During four stages and after walking along the last 112 kilometers of the Jacobean route, the men of the Alberto Contador Foundation will be credited with ‘La Compostela’, the official certificate that accredits the pilgrims who have made a sufficient Way of Sy. James (the last 100 km on foot or on horseback or 200 km by bicycle).

In this case, ‘the Camino’ will become especially hard due to the weather conditions of the Galician winter, in addition to that the pilgrims will be autonomous and must carry in their backpacks everything necessary for the walk, from sleeping bags to the personal equipment necessary for four days of track. The expedition will sleep every night in the official shelters of the Track.

The adventure will begin on the night of December 2, when the staff of the Contador Foundation, including the 13 Junior and 16 Under-23 riders, accompanied by the members of the Technical Staff (more than 40 people in total), will depart in bus from Madrid to Sarria (Lugo), where they will arrive in the morning of day 3 to cover the first stage (21.5 km) of the four planned. The route will continue next day, December 4, from Portomarín to Palas de Rei (23.9 km), continue on day 5 from Palas de Rei to Arzúa (28.6 km), and from Arzúa they will arrive to Santiago on the mid day of December 6, in a final stage of 38.4 km, after which they will made the ritual visit to the Apostle St. James and ‘the Compostela’ will be obtained in the Pilgrim’s Office.

“We thought that the Way of St. James is a great option for the first camp of the year, in which to gather all the staff, meet the new members and spend some days living together in an environment other than cycling”, explains Fran Contador, Manager of the Foundation. “With this Pilgrimage we want to start the year in the best possible way, entrust ourselves to the Saint and offer to our young people the opportunity to know the Way, to live a unique experience and also, why not, to reflect on their life and what they want to become, as all those who do the Way of St. James aspire”.

The Alberto Contador Foundation has had the special support of POLARTEC to prepare this expedition, which has provided first-line trekking material, personalized with a logo that refers to the Way of St. James.

(Automatic translation. Forgive inaccuracies).