The U19 structure resumes competition in the Spanish Cup in Vitoria-Gasteiz

The fourth and penultimate race of this year’s Copa de España Júnior sees the return of the Fundación Contador U19 structure to competition after two weeks without activity in which all the focus has been on studies and exams. The Clasica Araba Vitoria-Gasteiz, promoted by the Club Deportivo Ciclista Eguzkilore, modifies its route with respect to previous editions in order to increase its mileage and also its cumulative elevation gain.

Balint Feldhoffer, Samuel Flórez, Pablo Leno, Álvar Martín, Balazs Pollner and Iván Polo make up the sextet that will compete with an EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team led by a good connoisseur of these routes, since Gorka Beloki lives in the Basque capital. “A long, hard, elimination race”, says Beloki.

The route of this edition maintains as its hallmarks several passes over the Puerto de Vitoria (three times, two of them scoring for the mountain grand prix) and over the Puerto de Zaldiarán (three) and presents some more uphill terrain in the territory of the Condado de Treviño in the province of Burgos.

Gorka Beloki explains: “It is quite an attractive proposition, it will be 140 kilometres in the heat. The heat can mark the race. You have to be careful with the water points because it will be more difficult for the cars to work. It will be a race of elimination, with places that are tougher than the passes themselves. At the end of the day, running at full throttle can happen given the mileage. You have to know where to move, when and how to move. We’ll see how the race goes”.

10 June : IV Clasica Araba: Vitoria-Gasteiz – Vitoria-Gasteiz (138.2 km).