As if running the 3,261km 2024 Vuelta a España as his last race wasn't enough, Spanish veteran Luis Mate (Euskaltel Euskadi) will celebrate his retirement by riding 600km from the Vuelta finish in Madrid to his home in Marbella, southern Spain to celebrate his retirement.

On Monday morning, the yerba mate will “not get up too early” for the three-day return trip, spending the night in Puertollano, a town about 250 km south of the Spanish capital.

He will then pedal another 220 km south to Lucena, arriving at his home in Marbella on the Andalusian coast late Wednesday afternoon.

Mate finished 61st overall in his 12th and final Vuelta in his last season, which also included a stage win in the Volta a Portugal.

“I'm trying to get used to the idea of giving up my professional career, but I'm going to continue being a bike rider, and this is kind of a transition period from being a pro to being a ‘serious’ bike rider,” the 40-year-old told Cycling News.

“So that in itself was fascinating. But at the same time, I'm trying to make a really important point about how we need to change the way we move around to fight climate change for the good of the planet.”

“It's one of the biggest challenges we face as humans. Professional cyclists are effectively acting as loudspeakers. And if we can raise awareness of this issue on rides like this, that's very important."

”We're trying to raise awareness of this issue on rides like this, and we're trying to raise awareness of this issue on rides like this.

Mate said he plans to ride 650 kilometers on back roads and secondary highways to avoid traffic jams and with minimal luggage to save weight. Mate's brother will ride with him on the three-day trip, but Mate said that other riders are welcome to join them on the route.

“We're going to open the route up to the public because we're getting a lot of interest. If you can make a couple of turns at the front, even better!” He said.

Mate has already undertaken a similar ecology-oriented project: for every kilometer he spent on the run in the 2022 Vuelta, he planted a tree in the Sierra de Bermeja mountains near his home, which were heavily damaged by wildfires.

“It was another idea to raise environmental awareness,” he recalled. [It's not Wembley or the Santiago Bernabeu, it's Madrid today, Malaga tomorrow, Valencia, Alpe d'Huez, Picon Blanco, wherever.

“That forest fire was terrible, and it was near my house, so it broke my heart terribly. I wanted to be able to plant trees so that future generations could see that area as we were lucky enough to see it.”

This is not the first time he has cycled such a long distance back home. In 2021, when the Vuelta ended in Santiago, he rode the “Camino de Santiago,” the world-famous network of pilgrimage routes backwards to the city of Galicia. He ran from northwestern Spain to Marbella. [1,200 kilometers over six days. Last time I was there, I was very warmly welcomed in the villages along the way and many people came with me.

And back home, Mate says he is planning something more festive to conclude his career.

“We're going to have a party on the beach, with good paella, seafood, and beer. I'm looking forward to that too!”