300 cyclists take part in last stage of international event

Homages were paid to each one of the Spanish riders that has won the Tour de France. Trophies were handed out to the most notable cyclists in a large number of categories: overall winner of the men's event was Antonio Puigserver; winner of the ladies' event, Ruth Moll; the Arturo Sintes Trophy was awarded to Dani Coll; trophies for the oldest men taking part were won by Antoni Poch (83) and Jesús Ibisate (81); prize for the oldest lady cyclist was won by Helen Browning; the youngest boy was 15 year old Pau Torres and the youngest girls, both aged 17, were Mónica Bosch and Bárbara Villalonga; the participant that had travelled furthest to compete was Arsenio Sánchez from Tenerife; the club that had travelled from furthest afield was the Nova Cycling Club from Manchester; a family trophy was awarded to the Domingo Servera family.

Sunday's last stage was of 63 kilometres. Setting out from Maó, the cyclists went to Alaior and Es Mercadal before facing the most severe test of their stamina of the whole event - the ascent of Monte Toro. After a much more rapid descent, they proceeded to Fornells before returning to Maó.

Arturo Sintes, in his speech at the event's completion, pointed to the beauty of two particular sections that the cyclists had tackled: Monte Toro, of course, and the section between the Cami d'En Kane and Sa Roca. In this latter section the cyclists passed along very narrow roads brushing past overhanging vegetation.

In other speeches Menorca was praised as a veritable paradise for cyclists. The cycling community on the island was praised for its likeness to a family. This was demonstrated following the tragic death of a cyclist earlier this summer, hit by a motorist on the Me-1 near Alaior, when so many of the island's cyclists attended a memorial service.

Antoni Poch, the oldest cyclist taking part, aged eighty three, first competed in the event when he was seventy three years old. He comes from Pineda de Mar in Catalunya. He recollected that he has now competed in the Menorcan event seven times. He said: "I get on my bike and it makes me feel young, I forget what an advanced age I have now reached".