Five Trophies up for grabs in Mallorca
Trofeo Calvià: Palmanova – Palmanova (150’1km)
Trofeo Ses Salines-Alcudia (158’6km)
Trofeo Andratx – Mirador des Colomer (160’9km)
Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana: Lloseta – Lloseta (155’5km)
Trofeo Palma – Palma (141’6km)
Immersed in the Tour de San Juan in Argentina and with the start of the calendar last Sunday in the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana, the EOLO KOMETA returns to face a second competitive race at the same time. In this case, with the five trophies of the Challenge de Mallorca 2023.
The traditional competition, which presents an interesting and prestigious line-up of participating teams, will once again be the setting for the first mountain days and the real test to assess the riders’ condition for the rest of the Spanish tour in February. The good taste of the Clàssica CV with the breakway of Mattia Bais and the final effort of Álex Martín and Andrea Garosio fills the blue team with enthusiasm.
The demanding finals of the Trofeo Ses Salines (Thursday) after climbing Sa Batalla and Femenía, and the Mirador d’es Colomer (Friday) once Puig Major has been overcome, will be the most complicated days with the greatest possibilities. Saturday’s mountain stage in the Sierra de Tramuntana with again the ascent to Puig Major but 30 kilometres from the finish line, will break without being as decisive as on other occasions. The hard course of the Trofeo Calvià, which will decide the first winner after five climbs, will not be without a fight. In contrast, the probable sprint on Sunday in Palma, with options for the fast men and a nice final circuit through the island’s capital.
The list of cyclists for this Challenge de Mallorca is made up of Mattia Bais, Alessandro Fancellu, Andrea Garosio, Francesco Gavazzi, Mirco Maestri, David Martin, Samuele Rivi and Javi Serrano. Versatile profiles, climbers, fast; a mix of youth and experience to leave the stamp of EOLO KOMETA in these five opportunities.
“We are going to miss Albanese again, because we wanted to be in the fight to win one of the trophies of the Challenge de Mallorca”, explains sports director Jesús Hernández. The Italian rider was already third in 2022 in the Calvià Trophy and was one of the favourites, but he will not be able to take part in these races due to a fall in the concentration in Oliva. “We are doing a reset of our ambitions and objectives. We will try to be protagonists, every day we will have to fight for the breakaway and the secondary classifications that are a nice showcase and give visibility. I trust in riders like Garosio, Fancellu or the sprint with David Martín to give us some good results at the finish line”.
Profiles of the Trophies Challenge de Mallorca 2023