VIELLA, NEAR THE ANGLIRU : A SCHOOL FOR FEMALE RIDERS… AND TV COMMENTATORS

March 31 ^st 2026 - 12:05 [GMT + 2]

Key points:

• On May 8th and 9th, the final stages of La Vuelta Femenina 26 by Carrefour.es will take place in Asturias, one of the main cycling hotbeds in Spain.
• In the heart of Asturias lies the Escuela de Ciclismo Viella, a bike school that is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2026 and was a pioneer at establishing U16 and junior teams for female riders.
• Among the many girls who have come through its ranks are professional riders such as Alicia González and Lucía González, as well as two former cyclists who now work as TV commentators: Laura Álvarez and Isa Martín.

La Vuelta Femenina 26 by Carrefour.es will be the fourth edition of the Spanish women’s Grand Tour in its current format, featuring the world’s best riders and daily live TV coverage. Before this, La Challenge was already an established race and an excellent platform for women’s cycling visibility. Yet, even before that, it was the devoted, often unnoticed efforts of an endless list of anonymous, passionate individuals to keep the sport alive. The upcoming edition of the Spanish race will culminate in two stages in Asturias, finishing atop Les Praeres and the iconic L’Angliru. Situated between the two locations is Viella, a small village in the Siero municipality whose cycling school has been a cornerstone for the development of women’s cycling in Spain for 25 years.

The Escuela de Ciclismo Viella was founded by Paco Fuentes and Carlos ‘Cali’ González. The latter is the father of Alicia González, a professional rider who now races for the St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 following spells at LifePlus-Wahoo, Movistar Team and Lointek, and Lucía González, a six-time national cyclo-cross champion. ‘Cali’ is also the sporting father to nearly a hundred girls who, at some point in their careers, pinned on a number in the Viella-Guttrans outfit that has been a constant presence in the U16 and junior Spanish female peloton in this century.

“It all started with an after-school cycling activity in the local school,” recalls ‘Cali’. “My daughters became interested in racing because of it, and we decided to create a proper bike school for them and their peers.” At the beginning, they were just 8. Today, the Escuela de Ciclismo Viella has 55 kids in its ranks. The involvement of Paco and ‘Cali’ didn’t stop when their children moved up to the upper ranks: they are still running the day-to-day of their bike school and its teams.

Two of the riders who raced for Viella-Guttrans are TV commentators nowadays, mainly focusing on women’s races. One is Eurosport’s Laura Álvarez, who quit racing once her spell as a junior was over: “I learnt the ropes of cycling with ‘Cali’”, she says. “He would demand the best of us, especially at training. And, at the races, he was kind and educational. He taught me how to read races, be a useful team player and overcome moments of crisis.

The other one is Teledeporte’s Isabel Martín, who reached the UCI ranks as a rider and currently is the Spanish delegate of the CPA (Cyclistes Professionnels Associés - the largest international association of professional cyclists). “At Viella-Guttrans, I found a very close-knit, humble squad that really looked after its riders,” she recalls. “Now that I am a DS for a women’s junior team, I find myself telling my girls what ‘Cali’ told us back in the day. I’m also experiencing how challenging and demanding it is to take care of them, to arrange the trips and devote myself to the team weekend in, weekend out, and then tackle my working duties on Monday.The effort ‘Cali’ and his colleagues made for us to become riders was amazing.

”The Escuela de Ciclismo Viella has accomplished two important missions over the years. One was nurturing well-rounded individuals beyond cycling. “I always made a point of telling my riders that, however good they were on the bike, they had to keep studying,” says ‘Cali’. “I feel proud that most of them went on to attend university and become physios, nutritionists, biotechnologists…” The other one was creating role models for the younger riders. “The only way to watch women’s cycling back when I was a junior was those race summaries from the World Cup events that the UCI would upload to Youtube,” Álvarez recalls, “yet at Viella we had Alicia and Lucía as close, down-to-earth heroes.” Both González sisters would live up to their status and task, riding with the girls at the bike school on the weekends when they didn’t have a race to attend.

“We cannot overstate how much the Escuela de Ciclismo Viella has done for women’s cycling in Spain,” asserts Martín. Its legacy, like that of the many cycling clubs around the world, lies in the people that have grown through its ranks. “If not for ‘Cali’ and his school, I probably would have quit cycling at age 15,” Álvarez explains. “Without the Viella team, my life wouldn’t have been the same. It’s the seed from which I grew, both as a person and as a professional.” It also is a seed for the women’s cycling we will enjoy at La Vuelta Femenina 26 by Carrefour.es.