Facing the Clásica de Almería: a presumably sprint to restart the competition

Sunday 14th February.
34th Clásica de Amería.
Puebla de Vícar-Roquetas de Mar (183.3 km).

Two weeks after the competitive debut of the new season, a start conditioned by the evolution of the sanitary situation in the Comunitat Valenciana territory, the EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team returns to put on a bib to face in the Spanish Mediterranean a new edition of the Clásica de Almería.

A British rider and six Italian cyclists compose the formation that will fight for the victory in the Clásica 2021. Seven of them are debutants, as all of them will discover the Almería race for the first time in their career. Manuel Belletti and Luca Pacioni will be the two big guns for the sprint. Davide Bais, Mattia Frapporti, Lorenzo Fortunato, Samuele Rivi and John Archibald complete the squad.

The Andalusian race, in which the professional team of the Contador Foundation competed for the first time in 2020, is a ‘free spirit’ in the Spanish calendar. Since its origins it has been an ideal race for sprinters and fast men, a stage for exciting battles between adventurers and teams with an interest in a volata.

Some of the greatest names in this speciality stand out in the Classic’s list of winners. Germany’s Pascal Ackermann has won the last two editions and this year the list of sprinters will once again be very relevant.

The 2021 route will be no exception to what has been proposed in recent years. The first part presents a more broken route around the town of Berja, with the summit of Celín, La Alquería and Fuente Marbella as major orographic obstacles. The second part, which includes the climb to Almerimar, offers a more favourable profile and two passes over the finish line before the finish line on the Avenida Juan Carlos I in Roquetas.

“It’s the first race of the season, the first with the new colours… I’m very happy to be able to start this adventure”, says Manuel Belletti. “It’s my first participation in the Clásica de Almería and I hope to achieve a good result for the team from the start. A sprint finish is very possible. We will be ready and united to chase the victory”.