Day three of La Vuelta has a fair amount of climbing. While there are a few bigger hills, most of the elevation gain is dished out in the form of countless short, steep ascents and descents that are just too gnarly to be called rollers. Day three also features a lot of long stretches that hug the unspoiled coast and, of course, the triumphant return to Old San Juan.

Today we travel with Group B. Watching these riders attack the climbs (and on a few occasions, each other) it is clear that not every accomplished cyclists hangs out with Group A. We drive alongside the front of the peloton for several miles where we’re able to get in close enough to see, hear and even smell what it is like to be at the sharp end of the spear. From that vantage point it is easy to get a sense of the focus required to ride shoulder-to-shoulder and wheel-to-wheel as a single unit. The best way to describe it is intense.

All three groups come together in Dorado. The narrow downhill on the way out of town stretches the peloton as far as the eye can see. La Vuelta owns the highway on the way into the city and a moderately heavy rainstorm fails to dampen the spirits. A transformer on a power line explodes like cannon fire. The collective energy of the riders is simply more than it can handle.

The rolling roadblocks bring traffic to a halt and the peloton is free to devour the city streets unchallenged. Only the ancient walls of Old San Juan can stop the charge and once those walls are reached the outburst of emotion is overwhelming and as pure and beautiful as anything I’ve ever witnessed. These are not the same people who left San Juan on Friday. They are a family that shares an unbreakable bond. Even for hardcore endurance athletes, an event like this has the power to change lives and it usually does. In the end, that’s what La Vuelta is all about.