The 75th VCV presents a route with uncertainty right down to the last kilometre
The VCV – Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell has celebrated this Thursday in the Veles e Vents Building the official presentation of the 75th edition of the race, which will be held between January 31st and February 4th 2024, starting from Benicàssim.
València. Thursday, December 14th, 2023. The 75th VCV – Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell and the 6th VCV Féminas Gran Premio Tuawa have presented their official routes this Thursday. In a ceremony held at the Veles e Vents Building in La Marina de València, the VCV’s General Director, Ángel Casero, revealed the ins and outs of a route that aims to maintain the excitement for victory until the last kilometre, as was the case in the 74th edition of the race. The unprecedented ascent to the Alto del Miserat and the last finish line at the Puerto de València are the main novelties of the route of a 75th VCV that will be held between January 31st and February 4th, 2024.
The presentation ceremony began with a video summary of Rui Costa’s frenetic victory in 2023, followed by a brief review of the history of a race that celebrates its 75th edition this year. The journalist Paco Lloret showed images of legendary winners of the VCV such as Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Alejandro Valverde and Tadej Pogacar, among many others.
Afterwards, the official spot of the 75th VCV was screened, also inspired by a long history that makes it the oldest sporting event of all those held in the Comunitat Valenciana. This moment preceded the climax of the event, the presentation of the official route of the 75th edition of the VCV – Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. Five stages with starts in Benicàssim, Canals, San Vicente del Raspeig, Teulada Moraira and Bétera; and finishes in Castellón, Mancomunitat de la Valldigna, Orihuela, Vall d’Ebo and the Port of Valencia. The climbs of the Desierto de Las Palmas, Pla de Corrals and La Frontera will be among the highlights of an edition in which El Miserat will make its debut. A well-known mountain climb among the local fans, but which has never been climbed in a professional event such as the VCV. In total, the 75th VCV will cross 84 towns in the Comunitat Valenciana.
After the presentation of the route, it was time for the institutional and sponsors’ speeches. Speeches were made during the event by the Second Vice-President and Provincial Deputy for Tourism of Castellón, Andrés Martínez; the Provincial Deputy for Sports of Alicante, Bernabé Cano; the Provincial Deputy Delegate for Tourism and Sports of Valencia, Pedro Cuesta; the Deputy General Manager and Eastern Territorial Director of Banco Sabadell, Fernando Canós; the General Director of Sport of the Generalitat Valenciana, Luis Cervera; the Autonomous Secretary of Tourism of the Generalitat Valenciana, Cristina Moreno; and the Subdelegate of the Government in Valencia, Raquel Ibáñez.
To conclude the event, the General Director of the VCV – Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, former cyclist Ángel Casero, spoke about the importance of the impact of an event with the international scope of the 75th VCV. «For one week we’ll show the whole world, more than 200 countries, the best of the Comunitat Valenciana. Its landscapes, its capacity to host major events, the hospitality of its people and the passion of its sports fans», said Casero. The former winner of La Vuelta a España in 2001 has announced a novelty for this 75th edition, and that is the return of several Continental category teams, in a bid to highlight the value of the Spanish cycling youth.
The 6th VCV Féminas and ‘Mediterranean Cycling’
In addition to the presentation of the route of the 75th VCV, the route of the 6th VCV Féminas has also been announced, which shares once again the route with stage 5 of the men’s race. Starting in Bétera and finishing in Puerto de València with two mountain passes such as l’Oronet and La Frontera, which last year gave a completely different dimension to a race that had so far been a guaranteed sprint finish. It is worth highlighting this year the important incorporation of Tuawa as the race’s naming sponsor, a clear sign of the commitment of the race organisers and the Global Omnium subsidiary company to equality in sport and in cycling in particular.
Finally, there was a review of the different initiatives under the umbrella ‘Mediterranean Cycling’, created by the VCV – Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana organisation and which includes different initiatives for the promotion of cycling such as ‘El Desafío 10 Picos Sierra de Espadán’, the VCV Base, the VCV Experience, the VCV IN, the Marcha Ciclista Avapace and ‘Ride for the Planet’.
Watch here the best photos from the official presentation of the VCV