The 75th edition of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana will start from Benicàssim
The VCV – Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell and the City Council of Benicàssim have reached an agreement for the town of La Plana Alta to host the official start of the VCV on January 31st, 2024 on its 75th anniversary. The Mediterranean city has an extensive cycling tradition and routes coveted by amateurs and professionals, Spanish and international, who choose it as a preferred training and pre-season destination.
Benicàssim, November 24th, 2023
The city of Benicàssim will host the starting point of the 75th edition of the VCV – Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell. The town, located at the province of Castellón, will welcome the best teams and cyclists of the international peloton on January 31st, in a day that will mark the start of the ‘Grand Tours’ season in the 2024 calendar.
This is the third time that the VCV will start from Benicàssim (1976 and 2016), a town that once had the privilege of watching the legend Eddy Merckx win at its streets. It was on March 7th, 1969 and ‘The Cannibal’ beat the Valencian ‘Tarzán’ Sáez in a controversial sprint to win his third consecutive stage and to seal a VCV that he would conquer two days later in the final finish line in Vila-real.
«It is great news for the VCV – Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana to return to Benicàssim. It is a special place for us, as we started this new stage of the race in 2016 from there. I want to thank the City Council of Benicàssim and the Provincial Council of Castellón for the effort they have made to host the VCV again; and I encourage all the cycling fans in the area to come to Benicàssim on the morning of January 31 to enjoy live the best cyclists in the world», said the director of the VCV, Ángel Casero, who in the coming weeks will be explaining all the details of the competition.
«Benicàssim proudly welcomes the start of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and does so in this special edition. Our city has a great fan base and a long tradition in the practice of sports. The particular orography of Benicàssim and an extraordinary climate make Benicàssim an ideal setting for cycling, with mountain routes and long plains recognized and appreciated by both amateurs and professionals, who year after year choose us to prepare their pre-season», said the mayoress of Benicàssim, Susana Marqués.
The VCV – Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana celebrates its 75th edition this year and will once again welcome the best teams and cyclists of the international peloton. The start of the race from Benicàssim will put all eyes on the town of the province Castellón, as the VCV is broadcasted live on television to more than 210 countries around the world.
It should be remembered that this Mediterranean town has a prolific history within the national cycling with a reference ‘Peña Ciclista de Benicàssim’, which in 2022 celebrated its 50th anniversary and currently counts with more than 2,500 cyclists. From this historic sports organization promoted the second women’s cycling team in Spain, and about thirty professional cyclists from Benicàssim. Among the amateurs riders, they have won 38 championships in Spain road and track, plus more than a dozen international titles that are a source of pride for the entire municipality.
Benicàssim: a perfect combination of sports, cultural and relaxation tourism
Benicàssim, on the shores of the Mediterranean and a climate with more than 300 days of sunshine a year, has some wonderful modernist mansions that frame the landscape of Benicàssim. It is the ‘Route of the Villas’, built at the beginning of the 20th century and which earned Benicàssim the nickname of the ‘Biarritz of Levante’. Since then, the city has become one of the tourist destinations par excellence. Benicàssim perfectly combines relaxation and leisure. With a cultural program of arts, theater and literature of first level, Benicàssim is also #ciudaddefestivales. The city, hospitable by nature, opens to visitors with its best side: the quality of its beaches, with fine golden sand, a gastronomy for the best palates and a unique natural environment framed by the Natural Park of Desierto de las Palmas. A place to walk and enjoy the heritage, nature, silence and the aromas of lavender, rosemary and pine.