History

Etapa 6 Vía de La Plata
Etapa 6 Vía de La Plata

In the sporting event “Ruta Vía de la Plata Non Stop / Eurovelo 1” (RVP – NON STOP/EUROVELO 1), we have chosen the concept and transformed it into sport.

What better setting to cycle 900km on MTB than along a route that already existed in the oldest antiquity, using a natural corridor that connected the west of the Iberian Peninsula and allowed trade between Tartessos and the northern Spanish plateau in the seventh century BC!

This route was also used by Roman troops to advance towards the north. In times of Emperor Augustus, and above all in the reigns of Emperors Trajan and Hadrian, this was a Roman road. At first this road connected Emerita Augusta (Mérida) with Asturica Augusta (Astorga) and continued to Seville in the south along the “XXIII, Iter ab Ostio Fluminis Anae Emeritam Usque” and to Gijón in the north on the Via Carisa, another Roman road that General Publius Carisius had built to join the military bases in the Province of León with the Bay of Biscay.

The original road and its natural prolongations formed a long way of communication that connected the northern coast with the southern lands of Hispania. Goods, troops, merchants and travellers followed it in a constant traffic flow that helped to spread Roman culture, language and ways of life, while it also allowed the administration of the Roman Empire to control the territory.

This route was in use over the centuries, by both Arabs and Christians during the Middle Ages, and later it continued to play a major role in the communications networks across the Iberian Peninsula.

The long historical past of the Via de la Plata Route, whose name comes from the Arabic word balat, which means “cobbled road”, can be seen in the countless remains along the way; one of most interesting series of historical heritage, which we’ll be able to enjoy from our mountain bikes in June.