Luis Ángel Maté rides the 600 kilometers home from Madrid to come in terms with his retirement "for real"

After three weeks of full-gas racing at the Vuelta a Espana, all riders are looking forward to get some rest. But not Luis Ángel Maté who temporarily wore the polka dot jersey at the beginning of the race. As if riding the Grand Tour wasn't enough on its own, the Spanish veteran is "celebrating" his retirement by riding the 600 kilometres from the Vuelta finish in Madrid to his home in Marbella in the saddle.

Maté started his three-day return on Monday morning "without getting up too early" and will stay overnight in Puertollano, a town some 250 kilometres south of the Spanish capital. He will then pedal on to Lucena, roughly 220 kilometres further south, before reaching his home in Marbella on the Andalusian coast after a shorter "last stage" on Wednesday afternoon.

"It’s partly to get used to the idea of leaving my pro career behind, but I’m going to continue being a bike rider, and this is like a transition, riding home from being a pro to riding a bike 'for real'," the 40-year-old revealed his motiavtions to Cyclingnews.

"So doing that in itself was appealing," he admits. At the same, Maté hopes to use this opportunity to spread a message. "But at the same time, I’m trying to make a statement about something really important, which is how we should be changing modes of transport, in the interest of fighting climate change for the good of the planet. It’s one of the biggest challenges we face as human beings. Professional cyclists effectively act as loudspeakers. And if we can raise awareness about that particular question with rides like this, that’s something that matters a lot."

His brother will be riding alongside him in the three-day journey, but Maté said that other riders are welcome to join them along the route. "It’s generating a lot of interest, so I’m going to publish the route and anybody who wants to come along for part of the ride, can do so. If they want to do a couple of turns on the front, then that’d be even better!" he laughed.