Rafeal Botello - photo from Esto Es DXT

Sunday was a lovely day in Arrecife.
A balmy 21º C temperature, a little cloud cover and a nice 12 km per hour breeze set the perfect conditions for the Lanzarote Marathon and over 700 participants joined in the day’s challenges and fun.

Competing in the wheelchair category were participants from across the globe – from Spain, Portugal, Ecuador, France, Belgium and Ireland. Amongst them was Rafael Botello who works with the charity organisation TriWWW to promote the use of sports as a medium to help people with disabilities.
No stranger to the winner’s podium, Rafael competed in the Bejiing Paralympics and up until Sunday, had won the wheelchair category in this event for two years running. Now he’s notched up his third consecutive victory.

Speakingon his personal blog, Rafael bemoans his 1hr 54 mins time which he says was slowed considerably by a puncture at the 14 kilometre mark.
Describing the Lanzarote Marathon as one of the most important events in Spain for the participation and integration of athletes with disabilities, Rafael goes on to make special mention of Sands Beach Resort for their sponsorship of the event and for providing accommodation and meals for some of the participants.

The entire event was a resounding success, as it always is, and is a great showcase for Arrecife with a course that takes participants along the promenade and around the lovely Charco de San Ginés.

Now we’re looking forward to 2011 to cheer Rafael on to his fourth consecutive victory.

Rafael was joined on the winning platform by the Portuguese Alesandrino Silva and Ecuadorian Bayrón Lopez.

One of Britain’s most successful cyclists is finally slowing his pedals down and has accepted a post in management of the British Motorpoint Team for 2011.

Sheffield cycling legend Malcolm Elliott gained 31 professional wins between 1987 and 1995 and remains one of only two British riders to stand on the podium of a Grand Tour having won the green jersey and points competition at the 1988 Tour of Spain.
Now aged 49 years and still racing, Elliott had a practice run at retirement back in 1997 when he stepped down from professional racing. But six years later he was back and managed to notch up more wins including the Havant International GP, stages in the FBD Insurance Rás, the National Elite Circuit Series and the UCI masters road world championships.

In an interview on the Motorpoint Team website, Elliott said he had always intended looking at a management role when his riding career finally came to an end but when the opportunity to work with the British Motorpoint Team came up, the Sheffield Express launched himself at it with his usual head of steam.

Before the ink was dry on the offer, Elliott was already planning training sessions and naturally looked towards the eternal sunshine of Lanzarote to kick off the December camps.

“When you are a rider you have a very narrow focus. You are thinking solely about yourself. Now that I am managing the team I won’t be anything like as narrowly focused. I’ll still be as determined as I have always been just in a different way.”
“My plan had been to get into management but not necessarily this soon. But when it came up, I decided to step up and take the role. It’s only been a few days but already it feels quite natural. There is a lot to learn but I’ve had an extremely good mentor in Keith Lambert and if I can emulate his success then I will be extremely happy.”

One thing’s for sure, he’ll be happy with the cycling weather and conditions that he’ll find on Lanzarote – they’re perfect for winter training with warm, sunny days and an almost complete absence of rainfall.
Now’s the perfect time to enjoy the wonderful cycling terrain of Lanzarote; the summer heat is cooling, days are warm, dry and sunny and Sands Beach are offering free bonus days with their cycle hire.
You never know, you might just catch a glimpse of the Sheffield Express as he whizzes past you in a blur.

Anyone visiting Playa Grande in Puerto del Carmen between the 19th and 21st November who thinks that throwing Frisbees is just a way to pass time on the beach for people who aren’t into sunbathing is in for a bit of a surprise.

The Word Flying Disc Federation’s Beach Ultimate Championship, or the Coman Fruta Cabrones as it’s known in Spanish, is set to turn the beach into a flying disc battle zone between those dates.
This is a Frisbee competition in the extreme where, rather than being just a fun thing to do on the beach, disc throwing has been transformed into a hi-octane, contact sport with Lanzarote based and international teams battling it out for the honour of being crowned beach ultimate champions.

Entrance to the tournament is free and for anyone staying at Sands Beach Resort in Costa Teguise, it’s only a short trip along the coast to experience an enjoyable couple of days of frantic Frisbee fun.