The orography of Castellón tets the options of the Polartec-Kometa U23 in a new stage race

XXXVI Tour of Castellón

The calendar is inexorably moving forward and competitions are taking place one after the other. After the season of the classics and one-day races, it’s the time of the stage races. And this time the Polartec-Kometa U23 has one of the longest running: the Vuelta a Castellón. The Levantine round, which will be held in 2018 for its thirty-sixth edition, is once again emerging not only as one of the most demanding races on the elite and U23 scene, but also as one of the great springboards to professionalism. One of the most mountainous provinces in Spain could not but count on one of the most orographically complex cycling races…

There will be four stages and in all four there will be terrain to surprise or move on to attack. Saturday, in the traditional high altitude final in Vistabella, and Sunday, with the summit of the Desert of Las Palmas seventeen kilometres from the last finish line, are crucial for the resolution of the general classification. Jorge Pastor from Alicante and Daniele Cantoni from Italy, after his stay in the continental team stage in Valtellina, and Carlos García from Madrid, after his great performance in the Vuelta a Navarra, will be part of a team that includes Sergio García, John Stiven Ramírez from Colombia, Alejandro Ropero and José Antonio García.

“Ropero, John and Sergio repeat after having competed in A Coruña and done very well. The goal is to have a good race. The rivals also give pedals, of course, but we’re going for reasons and with a lot of desire,” explains Rafa Diaz Justo, the director.  “The course in Castellón is a course that, I think, adapts well to my characteristics due to its hardness, although in principle my objective will be to help my team-mates until the end. I think the general is going to be for a climber. Personally from A Coruña I’ve had a strange feeling, maybe because of the break I had the previous week, so I hope to go further these days and be in an optimal state to help my team-mates”, says Sergio García. “A Coruña was a demanding race, I lacked the rhythm to finish my form, but I know it will be very good for me to face Castellón”, concluded a John Stiven who is facing his second competition with Polartec-Kometa under 23.

Stages
Thursday 7 June: Benicassim-Benicassim (139.5 km).
Friday 8 June: Onda-Alqueries (122 km).
Saturday 9th June: Grao de Castellón-Vistabella (134.3 km).
Sunday 10 June: Castellón-Castellón (128.5 km).