Male Team 20 - 23 Jun
Route d'Occitanie
689 Kilometers 4 Stages
Two months after bone edema to his sacrum took him out of competition indefinitely, Alejandro Valverde will be back to lead the Movistar Team in his rainbow jersey at the Route d’Occitanie -formerly known as Route du Sud-.
The four-day route through the French departments close to the Pyrenées includes in 2019 a second mountainous finish to add to the traditional Saturday mountain route, this time including the climbs of Lançon (Cat-2), Hourquette d’Ancizan (Cat-1), Balès (Cat-1) and Hospice de France (Cat-1). As previously noted, the event will kick off with a tough closing loop around Saint-Geniez (Thursday 20th), climbing twice over the Côte d’Aubignac (Cat-2; 4km, 8.3%) after a previous ascent to Buffarel (Cat-2).
The other two stages will, in turn, be a clearer chance for both the sprinters and the adventurers: the Friday 21, stage two finish at Martres-Tolosane, after the longest route of the race (187km); and a circuit with some minor slopes, good for strong teams to keep it under control, at Sunday’s showdown in Clermont-Pouyguillès (154km).