FERIA DE ORGIVA / End of Summer Fiesta in Orgiva

The Feria de Orgiva is a four day long fiesta / party to mark the "official" end of summer. Each year the Feria de Orgiva features a myriad of events including music, food, exhibitions and parties.

As yet the full program of the 2016 Feria de Orgiva has not been published. What is known is that the Feria de Orgiva starts on 29 September 2016 and runs until 2 October 2016. What is confirmed is the centerpiece live act for each night of the Feria de Orgiva.

These are the main acts for the 2016 Feria de Orgiva:

29 September 2016: LOS VINILOS

30 September 2016: LARA TAYLOR

1 October 2016: AZUCAR MORENO

Aside from the live music shown above, at 5:30pm on 1 October there will be a exhibition of the famous "dancing horses" of Andalucia.

The limited available accommodation available in and around Orgiva normally fills very quickly for the annual summertime Feria de Orgiva.

Come and join the party - Don't delay. BOOK NOW

Tour de France 2016 Stage 16: Sagan times it perfectly for number three and Froome keeps Yellow

Stage 16 of the 2016 Tour de France was a tale of two parts.

Part one was the massive move by Tony Martin and Alaphilippe, both of Etixx Quick Step. Such was the big German's time trial power that for most of the stage it took all of the young Frenchman's effort just to hold the wheel.

Part two was the steep cobbled climb that lead to the final kilometer. The home town finish for Spartacus meant that he tried to neutralize the sprinters' kick with a power move on the climb. Unfortunately for him, he managed to pull Kristoff and Sagan with him.

Tour de France 2016: Stage 16 Preview Froome in Yellow

Stage 16 is a sort of flat stage where weather conditions could cause a couple of splits in the pack.

However, the sprinter teams will want to keep things together as this is the second last chance in the tour for the sprinters to pick up a stage.

The cobbled climb inside the last two kilometers could give a classics rider the chance to escape. What are the chances of one last punch from Spartacus near his home town?

Tour de France 2016 Stage 15: Jarlinson Pantano scores for Colombia and Froome comfortably keeps Yellow

Stage 15 of the 2016 Tour de France was a beautifully brutal stage that shattered the peleton all over the countryside.

It presented an opportunity for riders and teams to put Sky and Froome into the hurt locker and gain some time back. I watched and waited. When the attacks did come on the final climb, they were....

Highlights of THIS episode of THE WEEK IN TRI include:

Javier Gomez Noya crashes out of the chance to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games - just four weeks away.

Angry Bird is in Germany this weekend, looking to dominate the women's race at Roth.

All this and more in this week's episode as we take in the latest triathlon news from around the globe and preview the international races this coming weekend...

Tour de France 2016: Stage 8 Preview Van Avermaet in Yellow

An even tougher day in the mountains. Does Van Avermaet have what it takes to hold onto the jersey?

Tour de France 2016 Stage 7: Cummings wins and Van Avermaet stays in Yellow

What a day! Steven Cummings sending a clear message to the Birtish Olympic Team selectors who told him that he is not strong enough to make the British team to Rio.

Then Greg Van Avermaet extending his lead over the GC favourites in the yellow jersey.

All the way to the sudden and surprise attack on the peleton by the Flame Rouge with one kilometer to go.

Tour de France League 2016: Round 3

Here is the third installment of the Coach Edu Tour de France Competition including details of what you can win. Entry is completely FREE.

Tour de France 2016: Stage 7 Preview - Van Avermaet in Yellow

Stage 7 of the Tour de France 2016 and the mountains are here at last. Time for the GC big guns to come out and play.

Tour de France 2016 Stage 6 Cavendish wins again and Van Avermaet stays in Yellow

The day between the Massif Central and the foot of the Pyrenees can go one of two ways. Either a massive break of minor riders goes clear of the sprinters' teams keep things under control. Either way, the GC contenders were always going to be conserving energy ahead of three big days in the mountains.

And so it came to pass that things were kept together in the scorching heat.

Tour de France 2016: Stage 6 Preview - Van Avermaet in Yellow

Stage 6 of the 2016 Tour de France heads back down out of the Massif Central and should suit the sprinters.

BMC have indicated that they do not intend defending Van Avermaet's yellow jersey, so it will be up to the sprinter teams to keep the break of the day under control over the early undulations.

Tour de France 2016 Stage 5: Van Avermaet wins and takes Yellow

Ask yourself the following question: How many times, seriously, does an early break at the Tour de France stay away all the way to the finish? Think about it. Including mountain top finishes, it is usually a maximum of three stages, although usually only two... In other words each break away has less than a 10% chance of staying away - or more than a 90% chance of being caught. Fairly grim.

Why am I starting there? Well, Greg van Avermaet writes his own statistics. Stage 5 of 2016 was the third time in his career that Greg van Avermaet got into an early break. what's more important is that ALL of the Tour de France breaks that Greg has gotten into have stayed away till the finish.

However, out of all of those, stage 5 of the 2016 Tour de France was by far the most dominant.

Tour de France 2016: Stage 5 Preview - Sagan in Yellow

Stage 5 of the 2016 Tour de France takes a 216km road into the volcanic region of the Massif Central.

Three categorized climbs within the final 36km sets the stage for the first eruptions in the GC battle.

Sagan has only 18 seconds advantage over the GC favorites and a mere 12 seconds over Tour of California winner Julian Alaphillipe.

The World Champion will need to dig extra deep to keep the jersey.

Tour de France 2016 Stage 4: Kittel wins and Sagan still in Yellow

Stage 4 of the 2016 Tour de France was the longest in terms of distance and 15km longer than stage 3. However stage 4 was half an hour quicker than stage 3.

We are now 4 stages in and not one rider has crashed out, although I did hold my breath more than once over the final 10km.

In the end the difference on the line was a single centimeter after 237.5km of racing. It almost looked as if Coquard got himself cought behind Kittel's elbow.

Tour de France 2016: Stage 4 Preview - Sagan in Yellow

Although Stage 4 is the longest of the Tour in terms of distance, the riders ought to be quicker than on stage 3 thanks to a tail wind.

Once again we have a slightly uphill spring finish that should suit Greipel.... But then again so did stage 3.

Tour de France 2016 Stage 3: Cavandish wins and Sagan still in Yellow

At just six seconds shy of a massive six hours in the saddle, I am sure that many riders are looking forward to supper, massage and sleep. That was the third stage of the Tour for 2016. Even though stage 4 will be longer in distance, stage 3 will probably be the longest in hours in the saddle. Everyone, including me, was expecting Andre Greipel to take the uphill sprint, but thanks to a neat tactic he was hung out in the wind too early...

Tour de France League 2016: Round 2

Round 2 of the Tour de France League starts today.

Thanks to AMO Sports Eye Wear, each person that enters the Coach Edu TdF competition 2016 (details in the show notes below the video in YouTube) will receive a discount voucher from AMO via Coach Edu. Add your entry NOW.

Tour de France 2016: Stage 3 Preview

The 223km from Granville to Angers is one that ought to suit the sprinters. However, Tinkoff will not defend Sagan's jersey against a break away as they have the more important issue of an injured Contador as their focus.

Armindo Fonseca attacked from the gun building a lead of over 11 minutes. What will happen next?

Tour de France 2016 Stage 2: Sagan wins and in Yellow

Stage 2 of the Tour de France was always going to be an Everest of a challenge for Mark Cavendish to be able to retain the yellow jersey of race leader. Although able to produce pure sprinter power, Cavendish carries more muscle bulk than most. This means that when the road tilts up, it is watts per kilo that make all the difference as we saw all too clearly in stage 2.

Tour de France 2016 Stage 1: Cavendish wins and in Yellow

Stage one of the 2016 Tour de France had winners and losers. Mark Cavendish was the winner, getting the better of Marcel Kittel in a crash marred finale to take his 27th stage win and first ever yellow jersey.

The (potential) loser of the day was one of the pre-race favorites - Alberto Contador who had a BIG crash with 81km remaining.

Alberto has a week to recover from any injuries he has if he can survive the uphill finish of stage 2.

Tour de France 2016 Stage 1 Preview

This year, 2016, there is no prologue time trial to launch the Tour de France. Instead a road race stage tailor made for the sprinter teams with a relatively uncomplicated finale.

Which sprinter will take yellow and will any favourite lost time behind the obligatory crash?

We shall see (vamos a ver)...

Tour de France 2016 Preview: The Main Contenders

The list of favourites for the Tour this year are in 2 groups. The 5 main contenders who will be watching each other. Then there are the 7 others on the B list who could win if they go on the attack and create chaos for the teams of the main favorites and isolate the starts from their teams.

Lets take a closer look.

Tour de France 2016: ELITE Special Forces Protection Deployed

Following the tragic terror attacks that have happened in France over the past months, organizers of this year's Tour are leaving nothing to chance.

This could have an impact on spectators. Lets give the safety and security of riders, teams and spectators a closer look.

Tour de France 2016 Preview: The Young Riders and TT Specialists

An often neglected part of the Tour de France is both the young rider competition and the time trial specialists.

Here we take a closer look at who the favorites are in the young rider classification. It also gives us an idea of who might rise to become the stars of the future.

Tour de France 2016 Preview - The Climbers

The 2016 Tour de France has a route that is very friendly to those who can climb well. For this reason the main GC contenders should do well in the polka dot jersey competition in their quest for vital seconds in the race for yellow.

Outside of those, there are the other climbing specialists who will likely focus on the climbing competition while helping their team leader.

This video takes a closer look at the contenders in the climbers' competition of the 2016 Tour de France.

Floyd Landis - Peddling differently in new venture

On the eve of the Tour de France, the race that he won in 2006, only to be disqualified about a week later, Floyd Landis launches a new venture.

Under the brand name Floyd's of Leadville, the former cyclist will be peddling in a way few, if any, will have seen him before.

Tour de France 2016 Preview - The Sprinters

This Tour de France Preview video takes a closer look at the Sprinters. The fast men that will battle for stage wins and Yellow during the opening week, and then continue the battle for Green all the way to Paris.

Tour de France Competition Part 4

The Tour de France 2016 starts on Saturday 2 July.
This video is the fourth of a 5 part series explaining how to enter and play the Coach Edu Tour de France competition for free.

Join me for some added enjoyment for the first three weeks of July. See you there.

Tour de France Competition Part 3

The Tour de France 2016 starts on Saturday 2 July.
This video is the third of a 5 part series explaining how to enter and play the Coach Edu Tour de France competition for free.

Join me for some added enjoyment for the first three weeks of July. See you there.

Tour de France Competition: Part 2

The Tour de France 2016 starts on Saturday 2 July.
This video is the second of a 5 part series explaining how to enter and play the Coach Edu Tour de France competition for free.

Join me for some added enjoyment for the first three weeks of July. See you there.

Tour de France Competition: Part 1

The Tour de France 2016 starts on Saturday 2 July.
This video is the first of a 5 part series explaining how to enter and play the Coach Edu Tour de France competition for free.

Join me for some added enjoyment for the first three weeks of July. See you there.

Hiking and Trail Running: Alpujarras Spain

THE 2016 / 2017 ALPUJARRA HIKING SEASON IS HERE!
Are you and avid hiker or trail runner?
Have you always been dreaming of hiking in Spain?
Hiking, walking and trail running in Las Alpujarras is an exceptional experience.
The region of mountain villages known as Las Alpujarras clings to the southern flanks of the Sierra Nevada, cloven by deep, sheltered valleys and gorges which run down towards the Mediterranean.

The magnetism of Las Alpujarras – aside from the monolithic mountain scenery – lies in the region’s unusual Islamic heritage.
This was the last refuge of the Moors.
The Alpujarra, as it is popularly known, in the singular, is famous throughout Spain because of its unique mini-ecology.

This is ideal terrain for adventurous hikers and trail runners.
Now is your chance to enjoy an unforgettable hiking experience through Southern Spain's less-trodden camino, where you can roam alone above wispy clouds before descending for quiet nights in pilgrim-free villages.

And we have just the place for you to spend those quiet nights while enjoying icy cold Sangria or local beer on the balcony.
What's more, our beautiful and spacious private suite, CASA CATALINA is easily accessible and only 150 m from the bus stop!
For travelling, the buses in Spain are cheap, comfortable and easy to find and the bus line staff/drivers etc are helpful and very patient with extremely bad novice Spanish.
You don't want to miss out on a truly adventurous and beautiful Spanish experience!
SPECIAL OFFER FOR ALL HIKERS AND TRAIL RUNNERS

Book NOW into CASA CATALINA and enjoy 9% discount when you book for 7 nights or more! This 9% discount offer is valid for a limited period only.
We have the place, we have the space (right in the center of the quint village of Orgiva) and we have the MAPS all waiting for you.
And much more!
BOOK NOW! START YOUR GREAT HIKING EXPERIENCE IN THE ALPUJARRAS RIGHT HERE WITH US -

CASA CATALINA helps to make this an unforgettable experience.
CASA CATALINA JUST FOR YOU! 
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BEST BREATHING PATTERN for DISTANCE RUNNING

Breathing patterns in distance running play an important role in maximum absorption of oxygen and maximum expelling of carbon dioxide.

This video examines optimum breathing for running across different terrain.

OPTIMUM CALORIE INTAKE for DISTANCE RUNNING

So often we get caught up in the latest diet or nutrition trends that get promoted by a specific grouping within the fitness industry. Usually that grouping is the weight lifting / body building / fitness model industry. Athletes paid to promote various "bulking" supplement ranges.

I always need to check myself when switching sports that I adapt my nutrition to the sport I am doing as opposed to the one I was doing before.

That is what lead to this video. Share your opinion below too.

Hidden Benefits of COMPRESSION SOCKS

Compression socks - The Good The Bad and The Ugly. lets take a look at where and when compression socks give you the most benefit and when they may actually hinder your performance.

Please consider supporting my YouTube channel via Patreon. It will keep the content flowing and allow equipment upgrades for better quality content.

AGE ILLUSION and PERCEIVED LIMITATIONS

So often I hear age as an excuse for why a person chooses not to follow a lifestyle of fitness and health. Yet at the same time there are those who choose a path of fitness well into their 70's and 80's and beyond. Training needs to be adapted for slower recovery.

But seriously, never let age be an excuse for you to justify your lack of health and fitness. Whatever your level of mobility, get moving.

Tour de Suisse 2016 Stage 9 Pantano wins final stage and Lopez retains Yellow

The final stage of the 2016 Tour de Suisse was supposed to be a short and intense affair. Then the weather moved in and created blizzard and near white out conditions across the tops of the two mountain passes along the route.

So the organizers cut the shortened stage down by about half for the safety of the riders. Even with only 60km of racing there was still enough intensity in the route to force splits in the peleton and changes within the GC, again.

Tour de France RUNNING CHALLENGE With Coach Edu

The Tour de France 2016 starts on 2 July and ends on 24 July. You may be wondering what in the name of Marathon this has to do with running. Allow me to explain.

I've put together a little running challenge that co-insides with the Tour de France. A fun challenge that helps keep you fit over the 3 weeks of the Tour and bring some variety into your daily running.

I don't know about you, but when I stumble upon a new run circuit, I tend to repeat that same run over and over again every day for weeks. This will guarantee that each run I do over those 3 weeks will be different.

If for some reason, you're not able to do the challenge yourself, share it with your friends. The more the merrier. Full details in the video and the link is at the top of the YouTube info box just under the video.

Tour de Suisse 2016 Stage 9 Preview Lopez in Yellow

The 9th and final stage of the Tour de Suisse is anything but a grand tour style procession with riders joking and laughing their way to the finish. Two massive HC climbs and the merest hand full of seconds separate the top three on the GC.

Tour de Suisse 2016 Stage 8 Izagirre wins and Lopez in Yellow

It was so almost Cancellara's day at his last Tour de Suisse before leaving the race to focus on the Swiss National TT championship next week. In the GC, the 16km time trial brought the fourth consecutive change to the yellow jersey, and the time gaps among the top 3 are now closer than they were before.

Tour de Suisse 2016 Stage 8 Preview: Barguil in Yellow

The time trial on stage 8 of the 2016 Tour de Suisse is less than half the length of what is a "normal" Swiss time trial. The circuit is perfectly suited to Fabian Cancellara, who will be pumped to take one final Swiss stage victory in his final season. Behind Spartacus, the battle is on to see how much time Geraint Thomas and Teejay van Gaarderen can claw back on the leaders.

Tour de Suisse 2016 Stage 7: Van Garderen wins and Barguil in Yellow

Stage 7 was the queen stage of the 2016 Tour de Suisse. And what a stage it turned out to be. When Van Gaarderen launched his attack 4km from the summit finish it was snowing at the finish line. Not only did he burn off the opposition, but he even burnt off the snowfall too, to finish in the sunshine.

Spanish Doping Trial Releasing 200 blood bags to WADA - all sports

The governing bodies of a large number of sports must be quietly crapping themselves at the moment. The Spanish "Operation Puerto" raid and doping case was always billed as a cycling scandal. Even the doctor in the center of the scandal always maintained cyclists represented about 20% of his client base - despite only cyclists being named and "outed" at the trial (50 of them).

Now WADA will get to DNA test and cross reference 200 blood bags to the DNA profiles on the athlete biological passport database. Let's look at which sports were opposing the release of this evidence to WADA.

Tour de Suisse 2016 Stage 7 Preview Kelderman in Yellow

Stage 7 of the 2016 Tour de Suisse is not only the third consecutive mountain top finish, but also the most brutal stage of the entire race. Any rider that has been over extending his effort over the previous two stages stands a real chance of blowing up spectacularly and losing bucket loads of time. Will Talansky take yellow or will Van Garderen make a dramatic come back? Vamos a ver (we shall see).