15 UCI WorldTeam teams in the Valencian Community

February hosts the 73rd Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and the participation of up to 15 UCI World Teams.

The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell 2022 seems to consolidate for another year as one of the tests of the UCI calendar with the best reception capacity in Spain. 15 of the 23 confirmed teams are part of the UCI WorldTeam category in 2022. Concretely, the 15 UCI WorldTeam teams who have confirmed (out of 19 possible) are: Groupama FDJ (FRA), Ineos Grenadiers (GBR), DSM Team (HOL), Jumbo Visma (HOL), Israel Start-Up Nation (ISR) ), AG2R Citroen (FRA), Bahrain Victorious (BHR), Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team (BEL), Intermarché-Wanty (BEL), Astana Kazakhstan (KAZ), Team Bikeexchange (AUS), Movistar Team (ESP), UAE Emirates (UAE), Trek-Segafredo (USA) and Bora-Hansgrohe (GER).

It remains to be seen whether the Swiss Stefan Küng can once again conquer the general classification with the Groupama FDJ in this new edition. Scheduled February 2/6, starting in Alqueries and ending in the city of Valencia, the event will be one of the last opportunities to enjoy Alejandro Valverde after announcing that this is his last year as a professional. The Spanish cyclist, three-time winner of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, is ready to give a good image in his goodbye to this event he knows so well.

Although the teams haven’t yet confirmed which cyclists they will send to the race, potential level participants such as Matej Mohoric, Giacomo Nizzolo, Jack Haig, Jakob Fuglsang, Vincenzo Nibali, David de la Cruz, Giulio Ciccone, Mikel Nieve, Dimitri Claeys have or Luka Mezgec or the promising Juan Ayuso. To the previous ones will surely be added a good number of top runners who will want to participate in one of the leading competitions on the calendar.

Remember that the Costa Blanca is one of the regions most visited by UCI teams for their pre-season, so there are quite a few cyclists who know the roads of the Volta very well.

The route from Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana

Although with a few stages yet to be confirmed, the stage profile for February 2, 4 and 5, respectively, is already known.

The first stage, of 147.5 km, will start from the aforementioned town of Les Alquerías and end in Torralba del Pinar, highlighting the 3 second category climbs: Alto del Costur, El Remolcador and Torralba del Pinar.

The third stage, scheduled for the 4, has a route of 145.2 km, starting in Alicante and with an end that will surely bring a lot of emotions in the Alto de las Antenas del Maigmó, a first class ascent. It also highlights its passage through the Confrides and Benifallim passes, two of the most frequented by cyclists.

The stage of day 5 is distinguished by its start in the municipality of Orihuela Cycling Friendly, in a fast course designed for great sprinters. The finish line is in the city of Torrevieja.

Cover image: Vueltacv.com