Male Team 11 - 13 May
Vuelta a Aragón
500 Kilometers 3 Stages
It’s by far the best news for Spanish pro cycling when it comes to its 2018 calendar. Thirteen years after its last edition to date in 2005, the Vuelta a Aragón comes back to the UCI Europe Tour calendar as a three-day event, covering all three province of this northern Spanish region and offering terrain for both climbers, sprinters and adventurers.
The race will start on Friday 11th May, with 180km, south to north, between Teruel and Caspe. The peloton will tackle the Alto de Just (Cat-3) prior to descending to Alcañiz and Caspe, whose Castle will witness an uphill finish (2.2km at 3.4%). Saturday 12th will, in turn, bring the longest stage of the event: 194km from Huesca to Zaragoza with the climbs of Loarre -not categorized- and Alcubierre (Cat-3).
To close the race, a demanding Queen stage (Sunday 13th) will see riders covering 126km between Sabiñánigo and Cerler, with the ascents of Petralba (Cat-3), Foradada (Cat-3) and the finish in Ampriu (Cat-1). It’s a 12km climb at above 6% average, with a first half containing more steady ramps before the ski resort -around 7%- and two short flat sections in its second, which still features two kilometers at 9%.