The Bicis para la Vida by Škoda project travels to the La Vuelta a España

The event will take place on 13 September, Wednesday, in the Asturian town of Ribadesella, as part of the seventeenth stage of the La Vuelta 2023. In the run-up to a vibrant day of cycling that will end at the Angliru, the most supportive project of the Contador Foundation sponsored by Škoda and the SEUR Foundation will come to the town of Ribadesella to collect all those unused bicycles that are looking for a new life with the help of Bicis para la Vida.

All those who have a bicycle that they no longer use, for whatever reason, can hand it in at the start of the stage, where the Bicis para la Vida by Škoda project van will be present from 09:00 h (CET) in the morning until shortly after the start of the stage, which will start at 13:57 h (CET) according to the route book. Alberto Contador himself, who will be following the race for Eurosport, will visit this location during the day.

his trip to Ribadesella is also a very special meeting with the Vuelta a España, since the first steps of this project of the Contador Foundation came during the 2012 edition, the second of the three overall victories in the Spanish race that Alberto Contador would achieve in his career. That year, with the support of the race organisers, a first experience was launched with great success.

“Bicis para la Vida is one of the most gratifying projects we have developed within the Contador Foundation. Thanks to the support we have received from the fans, with their generous donations, this initiative has been able to grow a lot. The commitment of the Seur Foundation and Škoda has also made it easier to have a greater logistical capacity and to increase the geographical scope of action and the frequency of deliveries,” says Alberto Contador, president and alma mater of his Foundation.

“During these years, it has also grown in its cross-cutting nature with the maintenance of many beautiful synergies with NGOs and associations,” says Fran Contador, secretary of the Contador Foundation. “The invitation to come to the La Vuelta for a day makes us especially happy because the first Bicis para la Vida pedalling came during the 2012 edition. People got involved and made us realise that we had to do something to go beyond a one-off action. And since then, Bicis para la Vida has already distributed more than a thousand bikes in Spain, Morocco and Uganda”.

The Alberto Contador Foundation was born with the dual aim of promoting cycling and raising awareness of stroke in society, always with the bicycle as one of the fundamental tools for greater knowledge. In addition to the Bicis para la Vida by Škoda project, different sporting and social projects have been developed under its umbrella, such as the initially itinerant cycle-tourist ride and currently Gran Fondo starting and finishing in Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort (2011), the U19 category team (2012), the En Bici training-educational action (2012), the Plaza Eboli Cycling Academy (2013), the U23 team (2014), the professional squad (2018) and the Idemticos initiative (2020).