The Circuito del Guadiana 2021: the wear and tear of the rhythm, the Magacela slopes and the Extremadura heat

55º Circuito del Guadiana
Don Benito – Don Benito (171,4 km)

Extremadura, as beautiful in all its breadth as it is always exposed to the rigours of the climate, with special mention for the heat. Son of the pandemic, a totally different Circuito del Guadiana, Yes, the route is the traditional one. Yes, Magacela will once again be the hot spot as far as the slopes are concerned. But the weather in this corner of the province of Badajoz in February has nothing to do with that of the first days of July.

Don Benito, in fact the whole of the La Serena region, is an area of great cycling passion. And the Vuelta a España in 2021 will endorse this in a month’s time with a stage finish and the start of an important and unprecedented mountain stage. But now it is time for the Elite U23 Spanish Cup, Copa de España Élite Sub23, which has gone from being the inaugural event to the ninth, with important points up for grabs for the title.

As far as the route is concerned, there are few novelties: the classic route of an increasingly classic race. The street of the town of Magacela, that kilometre at 11% on Pedro Valdivia street that more and more people know as the Magacelamuur in a popular tribute to the flamenco classics, will put the pepper in each of the four laps.

The Andalusian David Martín, fourth in the provisional general classification of the Spanish Cup with 370 points with three rounds to go, heads a team that will also include the Cantabrian Álvaro García, the Catalan Álex Martín, the Castilian Fernando Tercero, the Balearic Joan Martí Bennassar and the Asturian Edu Pérez-Landaluce. Completing the ‘seven’, in his return to competition after the fall and the small fracture that forced him to abandon the Giro U23, is Vicente Hernaiz from Castilla y León.