Five stages, varied orography, summer temperatures and high motivation

With a powerful, varied, versatile and highly motivated seven riders, EOLO-KOMETA Cycling faces between Tuesday and Saturday a new edition, the XXV (35th) in its history, the third since its return to the amateur field, of the Vuelta Ciclista a la Comunidad de Madrid. Edoardo Alleva, Arnau Gilabert, Antonio González, Raúl López, Andrea Montoli, Fran Muñoz and Gabriele Raccagni (with Gilabert, Muñoz and Raccagni repeating with respect to 2022) make up the line-up that, under the guidance of Rafa Díaz Justo, will manage a varied route that maintains some of its hallmarks and incorporates some novelties. Gilabert, González and López start fresh off the bike, and with an optimal pedal stroke, after their experience in the last edition of the very tough Giro del Valle de Aosta.

Apart from the original dates, brought forward by one day due to the General Elections in Spain on Sunday 23 July, the main novelty of the Madrid round will be its start, which on this occasion will take place in the monumental Chinchón, under the formula of the team time trial. Alcalá de Henares offers a tribute to the now defunct Gran Premio Macario on the following day, a journey that will include a climb to Loranca and a foray through the countryside of Guadalajara before returning to the ancient Complutum. The Sierra Norte de Madrid, in a tour that returns for the third year and which is so decisive, and the stage through the Vegas del Sur with start and finish in Parla receive the race on the following two days. San Lorenzo de El Escorial, after hosting the recent and successful Spanish Championships, repeats as the final stage with a last section without the presence of the high mountains of the Central System, but with the classic passes of this Sierra Oste (Santa María de la Alameda, Robledondo) and the uphill finish of the Cañada Nueva street.

The home race. The Contador Foundation works from Madrid and that is why the Vuelta a la Comunidad for the U23 category emerges as a special event that is eagerly awaited. In 2021, in the first year of its organisational return to the amateur field, Rafa Díaz Justo’s structure could not take part due to the appearance of two positives for COVID-19 in the internal controls prior to the race which, common sense for the sake of maximum protection of the race, invited to take this step. In 2022, the premiere would take place with a good group performance that resulted in second place overall for the now professional Marcel Camprubí, although with the small disappointment of not having been able to compete for the victory in the last stage due to a forest fire on the Alto de la Cruz Verde that forced the race to be stopped and neutralised until the finish.

Fran Muñoz, questioned about the route: “The team time trial is a good way to start a stage race, there will start to be time differences and it will be quite interesting, although I don’t know if it will be better or worse than an individual time trial from the point of suffering. There are mountains, maybe the last stage will be a bit softer, but in any case there are five days and it will be a tough tour. I think it will be very important to adapt to the heat, especially given the temperatures these days”.

The stages.
18 July | Stage 1: Chinchón – Chinchón (13.1 km TTT).

19 July | Stage 2: Alcalá de Henares – Alcalá de Henares (137.5 km).

20 July | Stage 3: Buitrago del Lozoya – Buitrago del Lozoya (101.2 km).

21st July | Stage 4: Parla – Parla (137.5 km).

22 July | Stage 5: San Lorenzo de El Escorial – San Lorenzo de El Escorial (139 km).