In easy flying distance of the UK, year round sunshine, golden beaches, good restaurants and a lively nightlife, Lanzarote has long been known as the ideal winter holiday destination.

But increasingly, it isn’t just holiday makers who are enjoying the delights of this Canary Island. More and more professional athletes are choosing Lanzarote as their warm weather training destination, and for many of the same reasons that have made it such a popular holiday island.

Athletics training requires discipline and routine and any athlete will attest to the fact that time management is an essential part of your required skill set. For a Triathlete, you can multiply those demands by three. Building your performance in each of your disciplines, maintaining aerobic fitness and endurance and ensuring essential rest and recovery time makes for a demanding schedule.

In the UK winter months, short daylight hours and sub-zero temperatures can severely restrict an athlete’s training schedule. Throw into the mix time spent travelling from track to pool to gym and your time management takes a hefty blow to its performance.

Cut to the beautiful Lanzarote hotel of Sands Beach where daylight arrives at 6.30am and stays for 12 hours or more; where the daytime temperatures hover around the 68 -70º F plus mark; where a fully equipped gym, on and off-road bike routes, running trails, flat terrain, hill climbs and of course the beautiful Atlantic Ocean all lie within easy stride of your luxury accommodation and you’ve found the consummate warm weather training base. Which is exactly what triathletes Emma-Kate Lidbury and Rachel Joyce discovered when they chose Sands Beach as their hotel.

Sands Beach caught up with Emma and Rachel and asked them about the highs and lows of their triathlete careers to date, and their plans for 2011.

Imagine ‘saddling up’ and, without having to negotiate any busy roads, immediately being able to cycle into the heart of Lanzarote’s unique countryside or along a coastal path where the hot sun warms your face whilst a gentle sea breeze keeps the temperature exquisite.

That’s exactly what cyclists visiting Sands Beach Resort are able to experience.

The resort of Costa Teguise pretty much ends at the Sands Beach Resort and that means that if you head north you’re instantly greeted by a ruddy volcanic landscape dissected by tranquil country roads…well wide, flat dirt tracks to be more accurate.

These trails are perfect for both serious cyclists who’d like a bit of an off-road challenge and visitors who’d prefer to savour the rugged beauty of Lanzarote’s incredible landscape at a more leisurely pace. From Sands Beach’s seafront, beyond the entrance at the lagoon, a choice of enticing tracks snake off in all directions. Some hug the coast passing small villages whose pretty, whitewashed buildings stand out blindingly against the earthy terrain; others turn inland towards intriguing volcanic cones.

If you don’t feel adventurous to simply set off on a magical mystery tour along one of them the team at Papagaya Bike, conveniently located in the hotel, are on hand to give advice about popular routes, types of terrain, difficulty levels and the best bike to hire for the job.

For an alternative exploration of this part of Lanzarote’s coast, head in the other direction along the lovely coastal path that meanders past golden beaches towards the centre of Costa Teguise and beyond…in fact all the way to Puerto del Carmen if you were feeling particularly energetic.

One of the great things about cycling on Lanzarote is that you don’t have to be Lance Armstrong to enjoy it. For athletes in training it can be challenging but, on the other hand, it can also be a thoroughly relaxing way of keeping active on holiday…and a great way to notch up a bit of sightseeing at the same time.

Once the festive season’s over indulgences are over and before carnival’s hedonistic ones kick in an extreme way to get the body back into top shape is to saddle up an get out and about Lanazarote’s volcanic landscapes on two wheels.

But we’re not talking a bit of gentle cycling here; we’re talking taking to off road tracks on tough and gritty pro-mountain bikes with suspension that’s perfect for tackling Lanzarote’s epic terrains.

With one of the islands most popular MTB events, the 2 Stage Off Road Mountain Bike Race, looming on the horizon (29th and 30th January 2011) the time’s here to get into training big time for anyone planning to enter.

The route covers 90 kilometres of rough terrain including tracks over sand and lava over the course of two days. Inscriptions fees range from €20 and anyone aged 15 and over can enter to challenge for the juicy prize pot of between €75 and €800. But be warned this is no event for beginners.

However, anyone who isn’t a seasoned mountain biker planning on entering the 2 Stage Off Road Mountain Bike Race needn’t miss out on a bit of off road action and excitement during their holiday on Lanzarote.
The terrain around Costa Teguise and Sands Beach Resort offers an ideal training ground for amateurs and professionals alike with trails ranging from dirt tracks to challenging mountain climbs. As a bonus, you can hire all necessary equipment to get off road at specialists Papagaya Bikes who are conveniently located right in Sands Beach Resort.

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.

When professional athletes need somewhere to put them through their paces, Lanzarote leaps to the front of the queue. Emma-Kate Lidbury is a professional triathlete and journalist, so she knows what she is writing about. Just returning to the UK after a gruelling training week, Emma is singing the praises of the tough volcanic roads of Lanzarote.
Starting out as a very competitive swimmer, Kate was also able to appreciate the miles of unspoilt coast and swimmer friendly seas. Don’t just take our word for it, have a look at Emma’s blog.

http://www.wiggleblog.com/2010/02/08/emma-kate-lidbury-blog-a-bit-of-sunshine-makes-all-the-difference/

If you are looking for sporting diversity, Lanzarote is the place to be, and that has been officially recognised by the members of the Spanish sporting press.
From 22 to 24 March 2010, Lanzarote will host the prestigious annual AED conference, that’s when the Associacion Español de Prensa Deportivo gather to review the past year. The latest event will see the unique setting of Los Jameos del Agua stage the big meetings, this series of underground volcanic caves has a large auditorium designed by Cesar Manrique, the founding father and designer of modern Lanzarote.
While the best of the press corps come together in Lanzarote they are sure to enjoy the vast range of sports that they can indulge in, with a perfect climate as a backdrop.