The Spanish Junior Cup visits the Campiña de Cordoba in the opening of the GP Montemayor
The great Portuguese writer José Saramago, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998, expressed in one of the passages of his book ‘The Elephant’s Journey’ a very apt idea for the point in question that occupies these lines: “We always end up where we are expected”. The Gran Premio Montemayor cycling race, a Cordoban event that has been in existence for half a century, will make its debut in the Spanish Junior Cycling Cup this coming Sunday. And that debut is the culmination of a long and intense work and the start of a new dimension for the event and for this sport in the whole region. The Peña Ciclista Montemayor, its passion, its work, the sacrifices of its people, deserve it.
The U19 EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team travels to Cordoba to resume the great tournament promoted by the RFEC. Gerard Cano, Dani Díaz, Iker Díaz, Miguel Domínguez, Héctor García, Pablo Leno, Iván Loaisa and Manuel Sanroma make up the ‘eight’ selected by Gorka Beloki to travel to the Campiña Sur Cordobesa and compete in the second round of the Copa de España Junior Cofidis 2023. A squad made up of four first year riders and four second year riders, where several of the riders will be competing for the first time in a Spanish Cup race in the U19 category.
The Gran Premio Montemayor proposes a long route, almost 140 kilometres, which is based on a circuit of about 70 kilometres that passes through the towns of Espejo, Castro del Río, Llano del Espinar and Montilla and which will end with the climb to the Mirador de la Campiña, at the foot of the ducal castle of Montemayor, also the starting point of the race. In Llano del Espinar, in the foothills of the Sierra de Cabra, there will be the KOM point twice.
Pablo Leno, who comes after his recent participation with the Extremadura regional team in the Spanish Track Championships in the category, with a bronze medal in the Scratch event: “I have never done such a long distance in competition as this race presents, so we are looking forward to discovering it and also with the uncertainty of how we respond. I’m coming to Montemayor with a good feeling, with a little bit extra and, above all, with a great motivation after the Spanish track championships, where I was very happy and satisfied. Besides, this will be my debut in a Spanish Cup, so I am even more motivated and excited, wanting to give everything and help the team as much as possible”.
Gerard Cano: “In these last races the team has shown to be in a very strong point: we are organising ourselves very well inside and outside the race, and there is a great camaraderie among the riders. We hope to be able to fight in this race of the Spanish Cup, which is very long and hard. It will be quite a challenge because of the slope. But as I said, we are going with a strong team, so we hope to be ahead and get a good result. For me it will also be my first Spanish Cup, so it will be a different world to what we have already raced: there will be a much higher level. I hope to be able to adapt to this level and to be able to fight with the team”.
16th April : XLVIII Gran Premio Montemayor / Spanish Junior Cup: Montemayor – Montemayor (137,6 km).
