The peloton splits between the Algarve and Andalusia
Starting next Wednesday, two races of the men's ProSeries share dates. These are the Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta (in Portugal) and the Vuelta a Andalucía - Ruta Ciclista del Sol (in Spain). Both races are held very close to each other from February 15 to 19.
Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta: route and favorites
Of the five stages that make up the Portuguese race, stages 1 and 3 look well-suited for a sprint, while the general classification will be disputed in the mountain stage of the second day ending at Alto de Foia (7.7 km to the 6.1%), in the mid-mountain stage on the fourth day with the finish line located in Alto de Malhao (2.5 km at 9.8%) and in the individual time trial on the last day.
The favorites for the general classification must be good climbers who can perform in time trials or time trialists who climb well. João Almeida (1200), Geraint Thomas (1000), Filippo Ganna (1000), Thymen Arensman (800), Daniel Felipe Martínez (800), Tobias Halland Johannessen (400) and Thomas Pidcock (600) are some of the favorites for this route.
For the sprints finales, Arnaud Demare (1000), Fabio Jakobsen (800), Alexander Kristoff (800), Hugo Hofstetter (400) or Jordi Meeus (400) are some of the fastest on paper.
Among the time trial specialists, in addition to Ganna and Thomas, Stefan Küng (800), Stefan Bisseger (800), Rémi Cavagna (400), Kasper Asgreen (600) and Tobias Foss (400) stand out.
Vuelta a Andalucía - Ruta Ciclista del Sol: route and favorites
The Spanish race features a course in which all stages end with some kind of final ramp. The first stage is the one that includes the most mountain of the entire event, with three first-category climbs. The race may still be open after this stage, but some of the favorites will already be ruled out.
The great favorite is Tadej Pogačar (1200), as in all the races he contests. Enric Mas (1000), Egan Bernal (1000), Tao Geoghegan Hart (600), Carlos Rodríguez (600), Mikel Landa (600), Michael Woods (600), Jack Haig (600) or Damiano Caruso (800) are others GC contenders.