This afternoon it was presented at the Castellón Provincial Council, in an act led by the President of the Provincial Government, Marta Barrachina, the first edition of the Castellón Grand Prix – Ceramics Route. An international cycling event with Departure in Castellón and finish at the Tile Museum in Onda, which will practically open the calendar on next January 21st with the dispute of 176.9 kilometers of route and 18 participating teams. The test will feature live television broadcast, in the decisive part.
The mayors of the municipalities through which the test passes accompanied Barrachina at the presentation event: Begoña Carrasco, mayor of Castellón and Carmina Ballester, mayor of Onda, the start and finish of the race; together with Susana Fabregat, delegate of the Consell in Castellón. Also present was the Captain Pedro Garcia and Lieutenant Jose Antonio Ruiz of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard.
The President of the Castellón Provincial Council, Marta Barrachina, has highlighted the event as an event that “perfectly reflects the interests of the province, highlighting the great fusion between ceramics and the tourist attractions of our territory. The GP Castellón – Ruta de la Cerámica will position the province at the top of professional cycling. From Castellón Escenario Deportivo we promote initiatives that, in addition to promoting sport and athletes, help put our province in the tourist and media spotlight and this event, taking place in January, will allow us to de-seasonalize tourism”.
In his turn to speak, the Director of Organization José Cabedo He wanted to thank all the guests and the general public for their presence, as well as specifying the objectives of the event: “We must make Castellón a cycling destination” and added that “today is a great day for the province because we are creating something that in a very short time can be very big”. In the more technical part of the Gran Premio Castellón – Ruta de la Cerámica, Cabedo highlighted “the television production, which will allow us to show the province and all its virtues for cycling in the area all over the world.
The route of the test, which will start on Sunday, January 21 at 1:00 p.m. from the Castellón Ribalta Walk, will visit a large part of the province of Castellón. At kilometre 7, the Alto de la Coma will be climbed, which counts towards the mountain prize and will allow the day's breakaway to form before reaching Borriol.
The brave ones who get ahead of the main group will continue to Cabanes and cross Alba Valley on a first occasion at kilometre 33.6 to compete in the Final Flying Course, and again at kilometre 80.2 for the second Final Flying Course. In between, they will climb the High Sierra Engarcerán (km 55) second category.
The competition will then be directed to Saint John of Moró for the third Flying Goal (km 105) and after crossing L'Alcora will head to the Ribesalbes reservoir, a very winding area where the main peloton will begin to reduce the gap.
After crossing a large part of the tile industry of Castellón, the cyclists will arrive at Vibe for the first time at kilometre 157, just 20 kilometres from the finish. With live images, we will be able to see the exciting outcome of the race that, at the start of the world cycling calendar, will put the province of Castellón on television all over the world.
After this first pass through Onda, the cyclists will have to climb to the Ayódar Pass (2nd category) which will be crowned with 5 kilometers remaining to the finish line. All the spice and final excitement in the dizzying descent that will lead the peloton to the Onda Tile Museum to compete in a short sprint. The riders will face a Final ramp of 250 meters to 12% with medium gradient to select a high-level winner. The first winner of the Castellón – Ruta de la Cerámica Grand Prix will be crowned there.
In the list of participating teams, the presence of 7 WorldTeam teams is confirmed. The most notable are: UAE Team Emirates, Tadej Pogacar's team (double winner of the Tour de France in 2020 and 2021); or the Movistar Team (the only Spanish team in the top category). They will also be joined by the Cofidis, he Arkea B&B and the Decathlon AG2R French, the Jayco Australian and the Astana from Kazakhstan.
There will also be all the Spanish Professional Continental teams: the Euskaltel Euskadi from the Basque Country, the Kern Pharma Team and the Rural Insurance Fund RGA of Navarre, the Burgos BH of Castile and Leon, in addition to the Polti Kometa Italian, the professional team of the great Alberto Contador. This list also includes the Total Energies French or the Lotto Destiny Belgian.
In the Continental category, the new team Balearic Islands Arabay will also be at the Castellón Grand Prix – Ceramic Route. From Portugal, the Feirense Portuguese, the Nice Metropolis French or the Atlantic Kiwi. The list will be completed with a total of 18 national and international teams from 8 different countries that will allow for a truly luxurious participation on the roads of Castellón.
Sponsors and brands already confirmed for this project include the brand MMR bikes, which will have an exhibition of its products for all fans who come to see the test; the sports and cycling clothing brand IRIER, based in Castellón.
In a round table with experts and personalities from the world of cycling, moderated by Juan Mari Guajardo, official speaker of La Vuelta and the voice of cycling, have participated Samuel Sanchez, former professional cyclist and Olympic gold medalist in Beijing 2008, as sponsor of the race in this first edition; Kike Gutierrez, former professional cyclist and president of the Valencian Community Cycling Federation; and José Cabedo, director of organization of the Castellón Grand Prix – Ceramics Route.
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