The Polartec Under 23 Team faces next week its first abroad race of the year, the Tour of Normandy

After three weeks of competition in the Spanish Cup, the Polartec U23 will start from next Sunday the first race of the year abroad, the Tour de Normandy, which will run instead of the Tour of Bretagne, worse situated in cycling calendar.

Rafa Díaz Justo considers that Normandy “is perhaps a race a little more affordable for us than Bretagne, because the kilometers of the stages are somewhat more adjusted to our category and the race itself is limited to cyclists up to 25 years, leaving outside the professional teams that we meet in the Tour of Bretagne, some of which even ride the Tour de France”.

On the other hand, the Normandy Tour will continue to be a great experience for Polartec men. “With this race we will continue to offer our cyclists the opportunity to know how they run in northern Europe, in the territory of the rouleurs and sprinters, of wind and rain. Northern France is also an area that a cyclist should know the best possible, because it is almost always key in the Tour de France, and the sooner they know to ride there, the better it will be for their sport future”.

This season, the director of the Polartec U23 believes that the Alberto Contador Foundation has a team that can “adapt very well to this type of roads, especially with four riders who are specialists in wind and echelons, Juan Camacho, Diego Pablo Sevilla, Harrison Jones and Daniel Viegas. They are joined by two climbers like Fran Perez and Daniele Cantoni, who can also shine in the climbs and tougher arrivals and we are also interested in getting used to this terrain”.

The Polartec U23 will put into action all available troops, as along with those traveling to France, in Spain will run the remaining riders. “It was a pity that Sunday Iker Eskibel crashed in El Guerrita, because he was one of the fittest at the beginning of the season”, explains Díaz Justo. “He was unlucky and broke his left arm radius, but I hope he will recover soon. He joins Claudio Clavijo, who is recovering from tendonitis, so that the rest will face all the races we have programmed, Zamora, who won last year Sevilla; the Iberdrola Trophy (Sunday) and Ontur, on Tuesday next week “.

The program will be completed, coinciding with the seventh and final stage of the Tour of Normandy, with the fourth race of the Spanish Cup, the Momparler Memorial. “We started the year perhaps a little more cautious than last season, with the idea of not being too tired at the end of the season. Rideres are getting better every week and we will continue to see that progression as they assimilate the work done. Now we have two very intense weeks ahead and we are eager”, concludes Rafa Diaz Justo.