This weekend Costa Teguise will host an international sporting event: the Triathlon World Cup. Athletes from different countries will compete between the ocean, the asphalt, and the wind in one of the most spectacular events on the sports calendar.
An important event for Lanzarote, which projects the image of the island in the world and reinforces its position as a reference destination for sport.
However, while the focus is directed towards the competition, in a small corner of the municipality of Teguise a more silent reality is lived.
It is that of the town of Los Ancones.
According to the information published in recent days, on Saturday there will be significant traffic cuts on several roads in Costa Teguise, including the Avenida Islas Canarias, the Avenida de Las Palmeras and various surrounding streets. During a large part of the day —between 9:00 and 19:30— circulation will be restricted in wide areas of the town.
For the residents of Los Ancones this means, in practice, a temporary isolation of the village.
So far, nothing extraordinary. Major sporting events usually involve changes in mobility. It happens in any city in the world, from New York to Madrid. The difference, however, is usually found in a detail that is not minor: the prior information to residents.
Many residents of Los Ancones claim to have found out about these restrictions through the press or word of mouth. It is not recorded that there has been a direct communication addressed to those who live in the area and who will be affected by the traffic limitations.
It may seem a minor detail, but for those who need to travel to work, take their children to school or simply leave home, the issue takes on another dimension.
To this situation is also added an unease that some residents had already expressed in recent months: the state of the dirt road that connects the village of Los Ancones.
In the last two interventions carried out for its conditioning, many neighbors consider that the works did not really solve the problems of the pavement, leaving an access that continues to present difficulties.
In this context, the temporary closure of accesses during an international event again raises a broader question: to what extent is the reality of small communities taken into account within the organization of major events.
Nobody disputes the value of the Triathlon World Cup. Lanzarote has consolidated itself for years as a privileged setting for endurance sport and competitions of this level are part of the island's identity.
But precisely for that, because Lanzarote aspires to excellence in the organization of international events, perhaps it is worth remembering that organizational quality is also measured in the small details.
In clear communication.
In notifying the neighbors.
In maintaining a dialogue with those who live in the places where the major sporting events pass.
Because behind every great event there is always a territory that continues living its day to day.
And sometimes that territory has the name of a small town by the sea: Los Ancones.
