If anyone reading this fancies riding somewhere different to the well ridden roads of France and Majorca for some overseas training, give Portugal a try. The roads are quiet, in good condition and away from Lisbon and a few other major towns traffic is very light. 

We headed about 80 miles south east of Lisbon to Évora in the Alentejo region - wine growing country - for the first Évora Granfondo Challenge. The event is organised by the same people that organise the excellent Skyroad sportive in Lousá (and for the first time in July this year, a brutal challenge with 4600m of climbing in Estrela da Serra in the north of the country). 

I signed up for the event quite soon after it was announced having been impressed with the Skyroad sportive last October. Unlike most UK sportives, payment online was not really an option. I had to transfer money directly into the bank account of the organiser and then email them the payment receipt. A bit of a nuisance but not a major issue. I should point out that this is the third Portuguese event I have taken part in, and all three required payment directly to the bank account, so maybe this is the way they do things here. 

Communication from the organisers in the months preceding the event was regular but it mainly consisted of "we now have 500 riders signed up" type of emails. I did receive a mail a few days before the event telling me that it was not a race and riders should obey the laws of the road but no actual rider instructions which was a bit odd. 

Our Portuguese friend pulled out a couple of days before the event so two "Bifes" (That's what they call the English) went down together. I realised on the way that neither of us had any instructions of where to go when we reached Évora but we needn't have worried, there were signs all over town directing us to the registration and start point. 

We parked the car about 400m or so from the registration area and took a walk up the steep cobbled finishing ramp to get there. Interesting finish, I thought.. Registration was very easy. Names on a printed list to get the rider number, then go and pick up a registration pack and sign the disclaimer. I was surprised to see that the entry pack contained a cycling jersey with the sportive branding on. It is good quality too. 

Once we had changed and ridden back to the start area most people were lining up ready to go. I needed the loo before setting off but there wasn't a toilet in sight which was a bit poor really. At 9am the hooter sounded and to a cacophony of noise from the announcer and hundreds of spectators we got going. It took 7 minutes to get across the start line and a few more to get out on to the road away from the start finish area. There were lots of Police and marshals and traffic was stopped to let everyone past. 

Riders of the Granfondo event (170km) and the Mediofono (96km) all rode together for about the first 30km. The roads were fast and in excellent condition and there were quite a few fast riders there. We managed to latch on to a fairly quick group and our average speed for the first 30km was 37km/h. 

I originally signed up to ride the Granfondo but a back injury meant that I had only ridden twice in the previous month, so I decided to ride the shorter route. When we turned off of the Granfondo route we were immediate hit with a ferocious headwind and I started wishing we had stuck to the longer route! However, I pushed on and made Andy - my companion - sit on my wheel. 

It was a pretty tough next 25km with some draggy climbs as well as that headwind. The slower speed did allow us to take a look around at the beautiful scenery though. Alentejo is one of the largest wine-producing areas in Portugal and we were riding right through the "rota dos vinhos" (Wine route.) With such quiet roads, this is worth the visit alone. 

About 15km along the road we reached the feed station, which I have to say was something of a disappointment. Feed stations at UK sportives are usually quite well stocked with all sorts of food but this one had quarters of oranges, half a banana and shortbread biscuits plus some water and energy drinks. I just filled up my bottle with water and had a biscuit - 96km shouldn't require a huge carbo load should it? 

After the feed station we pushed on and caught a group of about 10 riders. They were obviously going a bit slower than us so I went straight to the front of the group and continued at the same pace. Inevitably they all jumped on and I found myself leading for the remainder of the road into the headwind. 

Fortunately we eventually turned left to head back to Évora and the headwind became a side wind - sometimes slightly at our backs, sometimes slightly in our faces but definitely an improvement on before. Our speed immediately picked up and we were soon rolling along at 40km/h. On a long draggy climb the group split up and I dropped back to help pace Andy. 

It was getting quite warm now - 23c - and the sun was in full burn mode. The last 25 km of the ride was up and down all the way. No steep climbs, but energy-sapping nonetheless. Based on my earlier assumption that 96km wouldn't require loads of energy, I stupidly only brought one gel with me and now was the time to take it. I was beginning to feel quite weary, and started dreaming of shortbread biscuits! The gel did help though, and I managed to keep a good pace through the last 15 km until we reached the town. 

Now for the interesting bit. The last 500m was marked out in 100m intervals and most of it was on cobbles. Not Flandrian or Roubaix cobbles, but pretty lumpy all the same. The last 300m was up a 12% climb - all you needed after pushing into the wind all day. But we were almost there. The last 100m was even steeper, and over uneven cobbles as you headed to the finish at the Roman Temple. Passing riders with hundreds of people cheering on the sides, I felt pretty good about life. 

At the finish we were shepherded away from the timing mats into the area where you could get a recovery drink and some food - also included in the entry. It was fairly basic, just some pasta with vegetables but quite welcome all the same. I was tempted by the massage on offer, but not by the queue of people waiting so I gave that a miss. What I could have done with was a shower, and although there were apparently some available at a local school, it was quite some distance from the event HQ and no one really seemed to know where it was. 

So, after sitting in the sun for an hour drinking beer and telling each other how well we had done, it was time to go. For the record I rode the 96km in 2:59 and Andy came in a minute after me. Our average speed was 31km/h which I was pleased with bearing in mind the 25km into the headwind felt quite slow going. 

My overall impression was that the route was very good; not particularly hilly, but rarely flat either -a puncheurs type of route. The organisation along the route was first class but the lack of toilets and changing at the start/ finish and the basic feed station let the event down a bit. I would definitely do this ride again though. Fortunately I will be in the Pyrenees watching the TdF in July when this organisation is holding the Granfondo at Serra Da Estrela. 4,600m of climbing is not what I call a good day out - but I'm certain that it will be a first class event and if you like climbing it'll certainly be one to try.