15 Jul 2024

The high mountains of the Aosta Valley will demand the maximum from the under-23 team

Giro Ciclistico della Valle d'Aosta - Mont Blanc

From the 17th to 21st of July

The under-23 team arrives at one of the most important races of the season. Along with the Giro Next Gen and the Ronde d’ l’Isard, the Giro Ciclistico Valle D’Aosta, the official name of the race, will be one of the highest level races in which the squad will participate. Five riders will travel to the region of Aosta, in the north-west of Italy and bordering France and Switzerland, to a race that will climb mythical mountain passes.

Riccardo Archetti, a first year rider in the category and after showing a solid performance in the races of the last month, will have the opportunity to compete against the best riders of the category. Along with Archetti, Luca Bagnara, one of the team’s top climbers, will repeat his experience in the Italian race. Another of those who will repeat will be Antonio González. The rider from Soria will be part of a strong squad that competed in the Vuelta Ávila recently. Martín Barrero will be another of the cyclists who will be part of the team in search of better sensations after suffering a slight illness. Álex García will be the last of the cyclists who will form the team’s squad. The Catalan has obtained in June and July his best results of the season being eighth in the last stage of the Circuito Montañés and seventh in the Vuelta Ávila.

The cyclists will have to overcome five stages from Wednesday to Sunday. Five endurance tests on a terrain that is far from easy. The first day will be just 40 kilometers of stage at the foot of Mont Blanc. The stage will finish above 1,300 meters after an 11-kilometre climb with an average gradient of 5.5%. The second stage with a mid-mountain profile will take the riders from Verrès to Borgofranco after 127 kilometers and two climbs. It will be the prelude to a third stage that will be much more demanding for the riders. The third stage will see the arrival of the high mountains (despite the top mountain finish on the first day) with two major mountain passes in the final part. Verrogne (13,4km-7,3%) and Cole San Carlo (11,3km-9,2%).

The fourth day will once again feature some major mountain climbs. There will be 163 kilometers, the longest stage of the edition and a total of five scoring summits. The Col d’Arlaz (7,4km-8,7%), Col Tsecore (9,8km-7,9%) and Col de Joux (6,7km-6,9%) will leave the race practically sentenced. The fifth and final stage, with a downhill start, less than 100 kilometers and two well-known climbs, will be the culmination of a very demanding week. Col St Pantaleon (16.3km-7.3%) and the final ascent to Cervinia (15.4km-6%).

“I define it as the hardest race in the world. It’s a very tough race with five very intense days. We are bringing a team of climbers who we hope will evolve during the race and with whom we won’t have any mishaps and that luck is on our side. Antonio and Martín are the most experienced and the ones who should be at the front. Álex has had a very good Vuelta Ávila and Luca and Riccardo, who are also in good shape. I would like to be in the top 10 of the race, but we have our feet on the ground. It’s a difficult result, but not impossible”, explains Rafael Díaz Justo just before the start of one of the most demanding races in the under-23 category.

Stage 1: Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc – Passy Plane-Joux (40,8km)