The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana starts rolling this Wednesday in a race that will be the first test in this year 2023 for some of the most outstanding figures of the peloton in a route that promises a lot of toughness with several well-known ports of the Comunitat Valenciana
Stages and route of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
Stage 1: Orihuela – Altea (Wednesday, February 1)
The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2023 will start with a 190-kilometre medium-mountain stage between Orihuela and Altea. After a relatively calm first 100 kilometres, the riders will face a demanding but very fmailiar second section of the stage for many of them, since they spend the preseason here, with the climbs to Col de Rates (2nd) and Alto de Bernia (2nd). before the descent that will take them to the finish line of Altea.
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Stage 2: Novelda – Benissa/Alto de Pinos (Thursday, February 2)
The second stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana also promises strong emotions on a 178-kilometre route between Novelda and Alto de Pinos. The initial section of the stage presents opportunities for ambushes with the climbs to Maimo (2nd), Tibi (3rd), Benifallim (2nd) and Confrides (2nd) before entering a relegation zone that will take them to La Fustera (3rd). . The explosive climb to Cumbres del Sol (1st) could break the race before the final climb to Alto de Pinos, in Benissa, in the second category.
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Stage 3: Bétera – Sagunto (Friday, February 3)
The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana will head towards the province of Valencia with another demanding stage of 145 kilometers between Bétera and Sagunto. The first half of the stage will have an ideal route for training the escape before entering a demanding final section with ascents to two of the busiest peaks in the Valencian Community: Oronet (2nd) and Garbí (1st). ), from where they will face a rapid descent towards Sagunto.
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Stage 4: Burriana – Alto La Cova Santa (Saturday, February 4)
The last stage with a hilltop finish of this edition of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana will have a route of 182 kilometers between Burriana and Alto La Cova Santa. The first 60 kilometers of the stage, with the climbs to Ahín (3rd), Collado de Ayódar (3rd) and Torralba del Pinar (2nd) could help the formation of a leak. The climb to Mont Mayor (2nd) could make the stage even tougher before the final climb to Alto La Cova Santa, in the second category.
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Stage 5: Paterna – Valencia (Sunday, January 5)
The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana will end with a 93-kilometre stage between Paterna and Valencia in which the cyclists will have to face the tough ascents of Oronet (2nd) and La Frontera (1st) before heading to Valencia where an arrival at the sprint.
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Teams and favorites of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
A total of 19 teams will take the start in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2023. Of them ten teams belong to the World Tour: Bahrain-Victorious, Bora-Hansgrohe, UAE Emirates, Trek-Segafredo, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, Movistar, Jumbo-Visma, Astana-Qazaqstan, Ineos Grenadiers and Jayco-AlUla. They will be joined by the four Spanish teams with a UCI Pro Team license: Kern Pharma, Euskaltel-Euskadi, Burgos-BH and Caja Rural-Seguros RGA. And the list of teams is completed by five other squads from the UCI ProTeam: Green Project-Bardiani, Human Powered Health, Uno-X, Q36.5, and Flanders-Baloise.
Among the cyclists to follow, the presence of the defending champion stands out Aleksandr Vlasov with Mikel Landa, Pello Bilbao, Damiano Caruso, Brandon McNulty, Marc Soler, Alex Aranburu, Iván García Cortina, David de la Cruz, Thymen Arensman, Carlos Rodríguez and Tao Geoghegan Hart. Great figures of the peloton who will seek to show their cards for the first time in 2023 in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.