Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Junior & Womens’ Road Races World Championships 2013 – van Der Poel & Vos

-

HomeDiariesJunior & Womens' Road Races World Championships 2013 - van Der Poel...

Road Race World Championships 2013… I forgot to turn off the message alert on my BlackBerry and it started beeping away just before 04:00 am – it didn’t matter, I was awake anyway.

The aphids had breached my defences and the irritation of the bites had wakened me.

It was Pete Jacques on the text from Trinidad, quoting the Sunday Times;

‘A Team Sky cyclist has received a letter from the sport’s governing body, the UCI asking him to explain suspect blood values dating back to September 2012, three months before he joined the world’s number one team.

Jonathan Tiernan-Locke was selected to ride for Great Britain in today’s world championship road race in Florence but pulled out on Thursday citing lack of form.’

We’ll not draw and quarter the man, let alone hang him before he’s even tried for his offence – that’s if there is a charge to answer – but it would be a very disappointing one if it’s true.

I was in communication with him just a few weeks ago when I saw the percorso here, after last year’s cracking ride at Valkenburg, this looked made for him.

He cited Sky’s insistence on his using unfamiliar training methods for his lack of results, this year.

Let’s hope that ‘it ain’t so;’ even though it will for sure dominate the Media today and add to the negatives of an already poor Worlds for the GB team with the juniors, U23 and ladies all failing to show and just Bradley Wiggins’ silver TT medal in the trophy cabinet.

Road Race World Championships 2013
Franck Bonnamour.
Road Race World Championships 2013
The Junior peloton.

The French, Danish and Netherlands teams all showed themselves in the Junior Road Race World Championships 2013 – as Androni manager Gianni Savio always says; ‘you must honour the race!’ – with Franck Bonnamour away with Colombian Martinez in the closing stages.

Road Race World Championships 2013
Mathieu Van Der Poel.

But it was third generation star, Mathieu Van Der Poel who stole the day for The Netherlands with a classy solo display.

His granddad is Raymond Poulidor, his dad is Adrie Van Der Poel so he’s stuck closely to that old adage of ‘choosing your parents carefully.’

His list of palmarès at just 18 years-of-age is astonishing and already includes a cyclo-cross world junior title.

Road Race World Championships 2013
Mathieu Van Der Poel has already won a lot.

But for all his successes he still looked overwhelmed by what he’d achieved, yesterday.

Unusually for a young Dutchman, he wasn’t on a Giant, with a nice looking white Zannata as the weapon of choice; with it’s gear ratios checked as soon as he crossed the line to make sure that one turn of the pedals doesn’t take the machine more than 7.93 metres.

Road Race World Championships 2013
Mathieu Van Der Poel’s bike is checked soon after he crossed the line.
Road Race World Championships 2013
Bampot fans.

The bams were out in force as I headed off in search of nice images; the course is tough but isn’t photogenic with the percorso on the edge of town.

Road Race World Championships 2013
The Basilica di Santa Croce is the principal Franciscan church in Florence.
Road Race World Championships 2013
A glimpse of the main church in Florence, il Duomo di Firenze, or the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore to give it its correct name.

The race route only makes one pass through the old city on it’s way in to pick up the circuit which is on the north side of Florence in the hills.

Road Race World Championships 2013
The womens’ peloton hurtles through the narrow streets.

I decided I’d like some shots of the ladies in Florence’s historic centre and snapped them with the Duomo’s campanile (bell tower) in the back ground.

The thing about writing for Pez is that US readers don’t just want the hardcore stuff, they like to see what Italy and the big races are all about – not just riders pulling faces.

And on that subject, it certainly wasn’t a procession as the US driven peloton’s carbon rims rattled across the old stone sets of Florence.

I had to get a taxi back across to the circuit after my little adventure, though – I couldn’t face all those long, long, soulless straights I walked to get to the old town.

Cabs in Florence on a Saturday afternoon are scarcer than they are on Edinburgh’s Leith Walk at 03:00 am on a Sunday and it took me an age to grab one and get back to the circuit.

Road Race World Championships 2013
The gentlemen and ladies of the press hard at work.

There were two laps to go when I arrived and settled into the press tribune.

The percorso was patently too hard for most of the field and the leaders didn’t need to drive off the Salviati on the penultimate circuit – the rest were done.

Marianne Vos proved that she’s head and shoulders above the rest at the moment – but the US commentator’s inane rantings that she’s the best cyclist in the world and comparable to Eddy Merckx were completely over the top.

What would he have said about Beryl Burton; how many times would she have won the World Ladies’ TT Champs – maybe a dozen?

Road Race World Championships 2013
It was a bit of a press feeding frenzy at the finish.

The scenes around Vos after the finish were about the craziest I’ve ever witnessed; even by the radj standards of the cycling Paparazzi this was nutty.

Road Race World Championships 2013
Marianne Vos looked in shock at her win and treatment shortly afterwards.

Vos looked upset by it all as the UCI officials struggled to gain order.

Road Race World Championships 2013
Emma Johansson.

Silver medallist Johansson was a bit phased by the mayhem too and it left me wondering what today’s finishing line scenes are going to be like – especially if ‘The Shark’ or ‘Pippo’ do the business.

Road Race World Championships 2013
Rossella Ratto.

Bronze medallist Ratto got a comparatively easy run in as the mad throng around Vos followed her right to the door of the ‘controle.’

My nice pizza and Moretti La Rossa – their new strong, red beer – was tempered a little by the hassle of trying to find a cab to get back to the digs – another operatic performance.

But that’ll all be irrelevant when that big peloton streams on to the circuit at lunch time – Cancellara? Sagan? Nibali? Pippo? Valverde? Kolobnev? Gilbert?

In just over 12 hour from now, we won’t have to guess.

Results - Junior & Womens' Road Races World Championship 2013

Womens' World Championship

1 Marianne Vos (Netherlands) 3:44:00
2 Emma Johansson (Sweden) 0:00:15
3 Rossella Ratto (Italy)
4 Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands) 0:00:33
5 Evelyn Stevens (United States of America) 0:00:46
6 Linda Melanie Villumsen (New Zealand) 0:00:50
7 Tatiana Guderzo (Italy) 0:00:52
8 Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy)
9 Tiffany Cromwell (Australia) 0:01:40
10 Tatiana Antoshina (Russian Federation)
11 Elena Kuchinskaya (Russian Federation) 0:02:41
12 Claudia Häusler (Germany) 0:03:34
13 Pauline Ferrand Prevot (France) 0:04:20
14 Megan Guarnier (United States of America) 0:04:41
15 Annemiek Van Vleuten (Netherlands) 0:05:03
16 Eleonora Van Dijk (Netherlands)
17 Paulina Brzezna (Poland)
18 Maja Wloszczowska (Poland) 0:05:05
19 Elizabeth Armitstead (Great Britain) 0:05:28
20 Trixi Worrack (Germany)
21 Eugenia Bujak (Poland)
22 Ashleigh Moolman (South Africa)
23 Flavia Oliveira (Brazil)
24 Francesca Cauz (Italy) 0:05:30
25 Carlee Taylor (Australia)
26 Giorgia Bronzini (Italy) 0:05:35
27 Lucinda Brand (Netherlands) 0:06:44
28 Valentina Scandolara (Italy) 0:07:40
29 Jolanda Neff (Switzerland)
30 Oxana Kozonchuk (Russian Federation)
31 Shara Gillow (Australia)
32 Kristin McGrath (United States of America)
33 Karol-Ann Canuel (Canada)
34 Edwige Pitel (France)
35 Doris Schweizer (Switzerland) 0:07:46
36 Tetyana Riabchenko (Ukraine) 0:08:51
37 Mara Abbott (United States of America) 0:09:40
38 Miriam Bjørnsrud (Norway) 0:12:09
39 Liesbet De Vocht (Belgium)
40 Eri Yonamine (Japan)
41 Susanna Zorzi (Italy)
42 Inga Cilvinaite (Lithuania)
43 Anastasiya Chulkova (Russian Federation) 0:13:00
44 Andrea Dvorak (United States of America)
45 Eivgenia Vysotska (Ukraine)
46 Anna Sanchis Chafer (Spain)
DNF Noemi Cantele (Italy)
DNF Hanna Solovey (Ukraine)
DNF Audrey Cordon (France)
DNF Madelene Olsson (Sweden)
DNF Joanne Kiesanowski (New Zealand)
DNF Natalia Boyarskaya (Russian Federation)
DNF Lorena Maria Vargas Villamil (Colombia)
DNF Maaike Polspoel (Belgium)
DNF Reta Trotman (New Zealand)
DNF Enkhjargal Tuvshinjargal (Mongolia)
DNF Cecilie Gotaas Johnsen (Norway)
DNF Paz Bash (Israel)
DNF Uenia Fernandes Da Souza (Brazil)
DNF Aude Biannic (France)
DNF Amanda Spratt (Australia)
DNF Elise Delzenne (France)
DNF Olivia Dillon (Ireland)
DNF Melanie Späth (Ireland)
DNF Ingrid Lorvik (Norway)
DNF Julie Leth (Denmark)
DNF Daiva Tuslaite (Lithuania)
DNF Diana Peñuela (Colombia)
DNF Agne Silinyte (Lithuania)
DNF Špela Kern (Slovenia)
DNF Malgorzta Jasinska (Poland)
DNF Patricia Schwager (Switzerland)
DNF Lex Albrecht (Canada)
DNF Romy Kasper (Germany)
DNF Lisa Brennauer (Germany)
DNF Leah Kirchmann (Canada)
DNF Ane Santesteban Gonzalez (Spain)
DNF Denise Ramsden (Canada)
DNF Polona Batagelj (Slovenia)
DNF Ursa Pintar (Slovenia)
DNF Carolina Rodriguez Gutierrez (Mexico)
DNF Amy Cure (Australia)
DNF Gracie Elvin (Australia)
DNF Christine Majerus (Luxembourg)
DNF Annelies Van Doorslaer (Belgium)
DNF Sofie De Vuyst (Belgium)
DNF Esther Fennel (Germany)
DNF Andrea Graus (Austria)
DNF Martina Ritter (Austria)
DNF Daniela Pintarelli (Austria)
DNF Sara Mustonen (Sweden)
DNF Joelle Numainville (Canada)
DNF Amy Pieters (Netherlands)
DNF Minami Ueno (Japan)
DNF Ana Fagua (Colombia)
DNF Lilibeth Chacon Garcia (Venezuela)
DNF Belen Lopez Morales (Spain)
DNF Vita Heine (Latvia)
DNF Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Poland)
DNF Sari Saarelainen (Finland)
DNF Ingrid Drexel (Mexico)
DNF Jessie Daams (Belgium)
DNF Kirsten Wild (Netherlands)
DNF Katie Colclough (Great Britain)
DNF Nikki Harris (Great Britain)
DNF Loes Gunnewijk (Netherlands)
DNF Lelizaveta Oshurkova (Ukraine)
DNF Silvija Latozaite (Lithuania)
DNF Ivanna Borovychenko (Ukraine)
DNF Katarzyna Pawlowska (Poland)
DNF Lauren Kitchen (Australia)
DNF Martina Ruzickova (Czech Republic)
DNF Ana Teresa Casas Bonilla (Mexico)
DNF Edith Guillen (Costa Rica)
DNF Diána Szurominé Pulsfort (Hungary)
DNF Nontasin Chanpeng (Thailand)
DNF Jutatip Maneephan (Thailand)
DNF Antonela Ferencic (Croatia)
DNF Clemilda Fernandes Silva (Brazil)
DNF Supaksorn Nuntana (Thailand)
DNF Kathryn Bertine (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
DNF Véronique Fortin (Canada)
DNF Katazina Sosna (Lithuania)
DNF Christel Ferrier-Bruneau (France)
DNF Emilia Fahlin (Sweden)
DNF Jessica Kihlbom (Sweden)
DNF Céline Van Severen (Belgium)
DNF Svetlana Stolbova (Russian Federation)
DNF Hanna Nilsson (Sweden)
DNF Martina Thomasson (Sweden)
DNF Elke Gebhardt (Germany)
DNF Karen Doljak (Paraguay)
DNF Carmen Small (United States of America)
DNF Jade Wilcoxson (United States of America)
DNF Lucy Garner (Great Britain)
DNF Emily Collins (New Zealand)
DNF Tereza Trefná (Czech Republic)
DNF Lotta Lepistö (Finland)
DNF Samah Khaled (Jordan)
DNF Cindi Magali Dinatale (Argentina)
DNF Dragana Kovacevic (Serbia)

Junior World Championship

1 Mathieu van Der Poel (Netherlands) 3:33:14
2 Mads Pedersen (Denmark) 0:00:03
3 Iltjan Nika (Albania)
4 Logan Owen (United States Of America)
5 Lorenzo Rota (Italy)
6 Lucas Eriksson (Sweden)
7 Scott Davies (Great Britain)
8 Artem Nych (Russian Federation)
9 Sergey Shemyakin (Kazakhstan)
10 Benjamin Brkic (Austria)
11 Lorenzo Fortunato (Italy)
12 Gracjan Szelag (Poland)
13 Anatoliy Budyak (Ukraine)
14 Anders Skaarseth (Norway)
15 Daniel Martínez (Colombia)
16 Aliaksandr Riabushenko (Belarus)
17 Victor Langellotti (Monaco)
18 Piotr Konwa (Poland)
19 Robert Power (Australia)
20 Franck Bonnamour (France)
21 Jonas Abrahamsen (Norway)
22 Alessandro Fedeli (Italy) 0:00:08
23 Caio Godoy Ormenese (Brazil)
24 Simone Velasco (Italy) 0:01:00
25 Christoffer Lisson (Denmark) 0:01:09
26 Matic Safaric Kolar (Slovenia)
27 Julian Schulze (Germany)
28 Geoffrey Curran (United States Of America)
29 José Santoyo (Mexico)
30 Evgeny Kobernyak (Russian Federation)
31 Juan Felipe Osorio (Colombia)
32 Sam Oomen (Netherlands)
33 Pietro Andreoletti (Italy) 0:02:05
34 Mark Padun (Ukraine) 0:02:07
35 Laurens De Plus (Belgium)
36 Daniel Fitter (Australia) 0:02:24
37 Kristjan Kumar (Slovenia) 0:02:40
38 Piet Allegaert (Belgium)
39 Nikolay Cherkasov (Russian Federation) 0:03:34
41 Stef Krul (Netherlands) 0:03:57
42 Nathan Van Hooydonck (Belgium)
43 David Rivière (France)
44 Rémy Rochas (France) 0:03:59
45 Yonas Tekeste Haile (Eritrea)
46 William Barta (United States Of America)
47 Alex Aranburu (Spain)
48 Kristian Aasvold (Norway)
49 Patrick Müller (Switzerland)
50 Mathias Van Gompel (Belgium)
51 Julien Van Den Brande (Belgium)
52 Yerlan Pernebekov (Kazakhstan)
53 Jhonatan Casillas (Mexico)
54 Gregely Varró (Hungary)
55 Stylianos Farantakis (Greece) 0:04:05
56 Seid Lizde (Italy) 0:04:07
57 Adrian Auerbacher (Germany) 0:04:14
58 Andrej Petrovski (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) 0:05:48
59 Marco König (Germany) 0:06:11
60 Juraj Bellan (Slovakia)
61 Ryan Cavanagh (Australia)
62 Tom Wirtgen (Luxembourg)
63 Amanuel Mengis Ghebreindrias (Eritrea) 0:06:17
64 Elie Gesbert (France) 0:06:31
65 Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spain) 0:06:36
66 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kazakhstan)
67 Zeke Mostov (United States Of America)
68 Pontus Kastemyr (Sweden) 0:06:38
69 Davy Gunst (Netherlands) 0:07:00
70 Gustav Höög (Sweden)
71 Abderrahmane Bechlagheme (Algeria)
72 Marius Sylta (Norway)
73 Jonas Gregaard (Denmark)
74 Mykyta Zubenko (Ukraine)
75 Áquila Roux (Brazil) 0:07:54
76 Gaspar Gonçalves (Portugal) 0:09:04
77 Thomas Terrettaz (Switzerland) 0:09:10
78 David Ribeiro (Portugal) 0:09:45
79 Lennard Kämna (Germany)
80 Michael Svendgaard (Denmark) 0:10:17
81 Aleksandr Komin (Russian Federation)
82 Petter Theodorsen (Norway)
83 Magnus Klaris (Denmark)
84 Martin Schäppi (Switzerland)
85 Michal Paluta (Poland)
86 Andrejs Podans (Latvia)
87 Pita Cristian David (Ecuador)
88 Stepan Kurianov (Russian Federation)
89 Matias Arriagada (Chile)
90 Stepan Kochurov (Russian Federation)
91 Gordian Banzer (Liechtenstein)
92 Vladislav Galyanov (Uzbekistan)
93 Ekke-Kaur Vosman (Estonia)
94 Dzmitry Zhyhunou (Belarus)
95 David Per (Slovenia)
96 Onur Balkan (Turkey)
97 Mario Stock (Austria)
98 Eduardo Estrada (Colombia)
99 Yam Poliak (Israel)
100 Ryan Felgate (South Africa)
101 Juan Camacho Del Fresno (Spain)
102 Jaap De Jong (Netherlands)
103 Hampus Anderberg (Sweden) 0:10:50
104 William Elliott (Canada) 0:11:01
105 Dmitriy Rive (Kazakhstan) 0:11:33
106 Saya Kuroeda (Japan) 0:12:25
107 Linas Rumšas (Lithuania)
108 Uladzimir Gorohovik (Belarus) 0:12:28
109 Larry Valvasori (Luxembourg)
110 Abderrahmane Mansouri (Algeria) 0:12:31
111 Rémi Aubert (France) 0:12:35
112 Aurélien Paret-Peintre (France)
113 Michal Schlegel (Czech Republic)
114 Lukas Schlemmer (Austria) 0:13:14
115 Florian Schipflinger (Austria)
116 Matthew Gibson (Great Britain) 0:13:17
117 James Knox (Great Britain) 0:13:22
118 Tao Geoghegan Hart (Great Britain)
119 Mateusz Kazimierczak (Poland) 0:13:27
120 Eric Süßemilch (Germany)
121 Atsushi Oka (Japan) 0:14:46
122 Vasili Strokov (Belarus) 0:14:51
123 János Pelikán (Hungary) 0:14:55
124 Brent Luyckx (Belgium) 0:15:02
125 Ayden Toovey (Australia)
126 Mathias Rask Jeppesen (Denmark)
127 Ben Ganon (Israel) 0:15:05
128 Luc Turchi (Luxembourg) 0:17:30
129 Edward Dunbar (Ireland) 0:17:44
DNF Vladimir Cludin (Republic of Moldova)
DNF Omer Goldstein (Israel)
DNF Karlis Jirgensons (Latvia)
DNF Elgun Alizada (Azerbaijan)
DNF Dániel Móricz (Hungary)
DNF Sean Mackinnon (Canada)
DNF Adam Jamieson (Canada)
DNF Adhanom Zemekael (Eritrea)
DNF Balázs Rózsa (Hungary)
DNF Maksim Nidodirov (Belarus)
DNF Vlad Dobre (Romania)
DNF Petr Fiala (Czech Republic)
DNF Tomas Harag (Slovakia)
DNF Jairo Lopez (Mexico)
DNF Kwong Lau (Hong Kong, China)
DNF Chris Jooste (South Africa)
DNF Lucas Motta (Brazil)
DNF Martin Duben (Slovakia)
DNF Adrian Dumitru Zamfir (Romania)
DNF Raivis Sarkans (Latvia)
DNF Luka Kotur SRB
DNF Husnudin Hakimov (Uzbekistan)
DNF Lucian Buga (Romania)
DNF Grigoriy Shtein (Kazakhstan)
DNF Axel Journiaux (France)
DNF Abdelghani Fellah (Algeria)
DNF Federico Olei (San Marino)
DNF César Martingil (Portugal)
DNF Facundo Crisafulli (Argentina)
DNF Alexander Wachter (Austria)
DNF Domen Novak (Slovenia)
DNF Ridion Kopshti (Albania)
DNF Mark Downey (Ireland)
DNF Marco-Tapio Niemi (Finland)
DNF Miguel Bryon (United States Of America)
DNF Justin Oien (United States Of America)
DNF Dylan Foley (Ireland)
DNF Kota Yokoyama (Japan)
DNF Cristofer Jurado (Panama)
DNF Ivan Venter (South Africa)
DNF Hendrik Pineda (Canada)
DNF Félix Lapointe (Canada)
DNF Andrei Covalciuc (Republic of Moldova)
DNF Svetikas Gintaras (Lithuania)
DNF Andrea Maccagli (San Marino)
DNF Martynas Stasikelis (Lithuania)
DNF Patryk Krzywda (Poland)
DNF Sapar Serdarov (Turkmenistan)
DNF Sergey Medvedev (Uzbekistan)
DNF Andrei Grigoriev (Republic of Moldova)
DNF German Nicolas Tivani Perez (Argentina)
DNF Fethi Acar (Turkey)
DNF Enes Talha Ay (Turkey)
DNF Nako Georgiev (Bulgaria)
DNF Cristian Cornejo (Chile)
DNF Zoheir Benyoub (Algeria)
DNF Hichem Amari (Algeria)
DNF Kristoffer Halvorsen (Norway)
DNF Martijn Budding (Netherlands)
DNF Nijat Niftaliyev (Azerbaijan)
DNF Eno Rrucaj (Albania)
DNF Zahar Slugin (Turkmenistan)
DNF Carlo Noia (San Marino)
DNF Ziga Rucigaj (Slovenia)
DNF Santiago Quiroga (Argentina)
DNF Filip Cengic (Croatia)
Ed Hood
Ed Hood
Ed's been involved in cycling for over 50 years. In that time he's been a successful time triallist, a team manager and a sponsor of several teams and clubs. He's also a respected and successful coach and during the winter months was often working in the cabins at the Six Days for some of the world's top riders. Ed remains a massive fan of the sport and couples his extensive contacts with an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the minutiae and the history of our sport. In February 2023 however, our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed suffered a devastating stroke and faces an uncertain future; Ed has lost his ability to speak, to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He's working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation, but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time. Ed ran his own business installing windows, and will probably not be able to work again. Please consider joining us to make a contribution to Ed's GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure his future.

Related Articles

Helen Wyman’s Cyclocross World Cup 2010, Rounds 1 and 2

It seems like a lifetime ago that we (that's the 'royal we' i.e me, Helen Wyman and hubby Stef) were packing the car and heading off for the first world cup of the season in Aigle, Switzerland.

Giro d’Italia 2011, Stage 9: Messina – Etna 169km

'Tutti per Vincenzo' said the Gazzetta, on Sunday. 'All for Vincenzo' - but that little blighter from Madrid put paid to that. We got the benefit from the mad breenge after Saturday's stage - the Messina start was just five minutes from the hotel and it gave us time to have a wee skek at the porto, before we headed to Etna.

La Vuelta a España 2012 – Stage 13: Santiago de Compostela – Ferrol, 172.8 km

It’s awfully early,’ I thought to myself when I saw Degenkolb’s Argos boys commit with 50 K to go during Stage 13 of the La Vuelta a España 2012. And so it proved, there was a lot of firepower in the seven man break.

Giro d’Italia 2012 – Stage 4: Verona TTT 32.2km. Garmin’s Day

A sore one for Phinney at the Verona TTT - he's conducted himself well, but once those cycling Gods single you out, they don't let go, easily. He struggled on the climb and then overcooked it on a left-hand bend, there'll be pics everywhere tomorrow of that grass sprouting from his rear mech.

At Random

The VV View: Ed’s Journey from 57×17 to 40×40

Ed's journey from his lovely Condor 753 Time Trial machine, custom built with lots of trick features and optimisation to a modern gravel e-bike with the best Shimano drive train. How does his latest ride compare, and how did it come to this?

Ed Hood Needs Our Help – Please Support This GoFundMe Page

I write this post with a heavy heart, and to humbly ask for your help to support our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed Hood. Ed suffered a devastating stroke in February of this year, and faces an uncertain future.

La Vuelta a España 2012 – Stage 12: Arousa – Viewpoint Ézaro 190.5 km

On the stage from Arousa, a four minute lead for a breakaway with 20 K to go would normally be a pretty safe bet – but not when Katusha and Movistar go on the rampage.

La Vuelta a España, Stage 15: Solares – Lagos de Covadonga Preview

'Why do you want to go further, nothing is there?' the cute park ranger asks us; she's guarding the last section of the fabled climb. We're beside Lago Enol, one of the beautiful Lagos de Covadonga and we need to drive the finale to complete our mission for the day. 'Two minutes?' we plead with her - 'you have ten and then I come looking for you!' she smiles. She's right, low cloud, grass, rock and no lightweight climbers - just a lone Asturian cow...