A cycle through Spanish history: retracing the 1941 Vuelta a España

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An epic ride in the shadow of Julián Berrendero, who spent 18 months in a Franco concentration camp, then put two fingers up to the dictator by winning the race

The temperature stood at 42C as I rode into Salamanca one dog-day afternoon a little over a year ago. After two and a half brutal days I had finally completed stage one of the 1941 Vuelta a España, a stage won in just under eight hours by the man who would go on to claim victory in the first edition of this national bike race held under the Franco regime.

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