Prestige and level in a varied Tour of Navarra
Vuelta a Navarra
Navarra, Spain, from 23 to 27 May
The new management of M2Eventos has revitalized the Tour of Navarre (Vuelta a Navarra). Not far from 2013, when the race was held over two stages. A real exercise in endurance in tough years, crisis stuff, for cycling competitions. But the Navarrese round lasted, was reopened and resumed its pace. The 2018 edition is the confirmation, with the growth in one day, up to the five stages that were once the usual ones, or the return to an enclave outside the tours for almost a decade as Tudela. A varied route, rich in attractions, where you will not miss the Polartec-Kometa U23. Carlos García, José Antonio García, Sergio Hernández, Joan Martín Bennassar, the Dutchman Wesley Mol, Alejandro Regueiro and the Portuguese Daniel Viegas make up the squad led by Rafa Díaz Justo.
“On the first day”, Daniel Viegas proclaims from the Algarve, “this first stage will be the most important for me. Personally, I want to go all out on that time trial, ideally winning it or making it one of the first. It won’t be easy. But I’d like to. Training hard for them we were. And then he’d go away and see how his legs were doing for the rest of the days. There are a lot of climbs during the race, but if you are going to make a good result that time trial has to go well. I’m sure the first day will be very important in the final result. I think that both Alejandro Regueiro and I arrived very well in shape”.
Viegas highlights the importance of the first day, the individual time trial not too long in Tudela. But beyond the fight against the clock, the 147 participants, distributed in 21 teams of seven cyclists, will have to face areas exposed to the action of the wind, Pyrenean mountains, ambushes and even a stretch of land of almost a kilometer, in Ibiriku, which will have to pass three times during the third stage.
Carlos Garcia, Polartec-Kometa rider: “I’m very motivated and looking forward to it. It is a very prestigious race on a national level and with a really good international level, because they come from the best teams in Europe such as the Belgian Lotto or the Italian Colpack. I arrive in good shape, to see if I am lucky enough to avoid mishaps and crashes, like in Bidasoa, and to see if I can perform well and show my true level. I’m getting there well, the work is being very good, I’m training well. We’ll see how it goes. I’d like to make a good general and do it especially well in the stage queen, the fourth. But the important thing is the block and the team’s tactics. I’m a first year rider and I can’t think about winning the general classification either, I’m going to see, learn and see what can be done”.
“The Tour of Navarre is a demanding lap, it will be the longest I have ever run”, said Joan Martí Bennassar from Mallorca. “I am a rider who is doing quite well in the time trial and I think I can do well in the prologue. I’m working on getting the shape point. It will be a level turn. And I’m sure it will be very hard because there are stages with almost 3,000 meters of unevenness. We’ll see what we can do. I’m happy with all the work I’ve been doing this year, it’s my first year and adapting to a new category is always difficult, but I think I’m doing quite well. And now we will see if we can meet the objectives, go further from now on and even if we can compete in any race”.
The stages.
Stage 1: Tudela – Tudela (4.7 km CRI).
Stage 2: Lodosa-Azagra (144 km).
Stage 3: Lizarte-Museum Oteiza (141 km).
Stage 4: Valle de Egües-Ochagavia (129 km).
Stage 5: Aoiz-Pamplona (93.4 km).
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
