Male Team 14 - 18 Feb
Vuelta a Andalucía
711 Kilometers 5 Stages
The 64th edition of the Vuelta a Andalucía – Ruta del Sol will not have its phenomenal recordman present –Alejandro Valverde claimed his fifth GC success and reached 100 pro victories here in 2017-, yet will mark a special moment for the Telefónica-backed squad as Mikel Landa debuts in Blue colours. The Basque climber and his team-mates will again face a difficult course, with no less than three days where GC riders will have to give it their all.
As in last year’s race, the Ruta del Sol will get to Granada at the end of stage one (Wednesday 14th), with five more little climbs surrounding the finish this time – even though the Alto de la Malahá (Cat-3) will be located just 19km from the end. Stage two (Thursday 15th), quite shorter (140km), will take the race to the Alto de las Allanadas (La Guardia de Jaén), a brutal, 2.5km hill with slopes averaging over 13%.
Following a pretty flat route on stage three towards Herrera (Friday 16th), the biggest change in this year’s route will show up: a hill-top finish, never used before in a pro race, at Alcalá de los Gazules (Saturday 17th), over cobblestones at most sections and with 2km featuring gradients that exceed 14%. The central section of this stage will not be easy, either: the passage through the Sierra de Grazalema will include the ascents of Las Palomas (Cat-1) and El Boyar (Cat-3). The Ruta del Sol will finish with a 14km individual time trial (Sunday 18th), with ups-and-downs, in and around Barbate.