34th Cycling Tour of Cuba Set to Open

Some 120 riders from 6 nations will compete in the 34th Cycle Tour of Cuba to be held across the island from February 10 to 22.

The Cycling Tour of Cuba is back. Once again, the competition will begin in Baracoa, Guantánamo February 10, ending February 22 in Havana.

Athletes will race 1,780 km divided into 13 stages. According to the official schedule, during the fourth stage, cyclists will not follow the same circuit in Holguín, but instead follow the Camaguey-Ciego de Avila road that has been used in other races. Now, the fifth stage of the competition will be the longest at 206 km.

Other changes are that the 12th stage will no longer go through the mountains of Pinar del Rio and thus become faster.

The eighth day of competition may become the most exciting with cyclists climbing the Topes de Collantes Mountains, in the province of Sancti Spíritus, a stage that just may determine the winner of the competition.

The top riders

Pedro Pablo Pérez, known as the King of the Cuban roads, has been absent from competition since a 2008 car accident and remains so, for this event. This should make the competition tighter, opening up opportunities for locals Arnold Alcolea, Raúl Granjel, Yenier Lopez and Yasmani Martínez with the national side.

Other squads competing alongside the Cuban national team are the “Comandante Manuel Fajardo” Higher Institute of Physical Education side and squads from all provinces, except for Las Tunas and Camaguey.

Then there are the foreigners. For example, Venezuela has brought an outstanding six-man team that includes Manuel Medina, the number ranked cyclist in Latin America.

The Mexican team, Tecos-Trek, is also back, which includes Gregorio Ladino, known as the King of Mountains of the last competition, and number one in Latin America according to the International Cycling Union.

Canada will be represented by Planet Energy with Bruno Langlois, a silver medallist at the Road Race National Champioship held in Canada, Ryan Roth, and Svein Tuft who won this competition two years ago.

The German team Saxonia is also taking part in this competition along with the Italian squad Cinelli.

In summary, some 120 cyclists from 6 countries will race across the island starting on Tuesday, with only one entering triumphantly into Havana on February 22.