In Salamanca, climbs, ambushes and bravery will be the order of the day
The cycling calendar for the elite and U23 categories, capricious as it is, ends up being a wasteland of August due to suspensions and postponements that nobody wants, or because of overlaps and coincidences that are difficult to manage in material and organisational terms. The calendar is what it is and the search for its rationalisation is the responsibility of other bodies; we can only thank the organisers for their commitment and their involvement, in most cases for the love of art, which in these matters is the love of cycling, for continuing to negotiate all the difficulties involved in setting up a race to return to its date with the roads. This serves as a prologue to the presentation of a new edition of the Vuelta Ciclista a Salamanca which, for yet another year, shares dates with the Volta a la Provincia de Valencia.
The helmantica race, than half a century of existence, faces its 51st edition with the help of the Club Ciclista Promesal and with a menu of three stages in line that, broadly speaking, repeats the same locations and the guidelines of the previous year. The main difference is that the main stage, on Saturday, will be tackled this time in reverse, from La Alberca to Ledrada, and the terrain to be managed, without having a high mountain pass such as El Portillo de Las Batuecas as then, has several more climbs and an infinite number of steep slopes; this is the way the reliefs are in these geographic backwaters of the Central System. This stage alone requires the presence of a strong bunch, capable of reacting quickly and working hard in the face of the various race alternatives that, here’s a prediction, are sure to be encountered. And watch out for the average speeds on the last day…
The U23 team of the Fundación Contador comes with a sextet composed by Luca Bagnara, Tommaso Bessega, Arnau Gilabert, Antonio González, Raúl López and Sebastiano Minoia. |A year ago, the team had a great performance, was in the fight for the partial triumphs and managed to climb the final podium of the absolute general classification with Fernando Tercero, third, who was enjoying a great form and was hurrying his last experiences in the amateur field before making his jump to the professionalism with the EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team. “It is a route that, the truth, I like very much. The first day already is going to be very tough after going up to Saucelle with the final climb. It’s a prelude to Saturday’s stage, where the biggest differences should be made. The last day will be the calmest, if the wind gives us a break… In any case, we’re going with a lot of ambition and the desire to do well. I’m sure it will be a very nice race for the team”, says Antonio González from El Royo.
The stages.
8 September | Stage 1: Sardón de los Frailes – Aldeadávila de la Ribera (126, 8 km).
9th September | La Alberca – Ledrada (136.2 km).
10th September | Doñinos de Salamanca – Salamanca (142.1 km).
