The cyclist from Usurbil, Guipúzcoa, will share the starting line with other leading names in this discipline such as Joseba Beloki, or the world champion Abraham Olano, who will be joined by new additions soon.
The EPIC Gran Canaria Riu Hotels & Resorts will have a new star in its ranks with the confirmed participation of cyclist Haimar Zubeldia . The Basque athlete joins the most popular cycling event in southern Gran Canaria, ready for the challenge, which will take place from February 11th to 13th , 2022.
Haimar Zubeldia was a prominent track and cyclocross cyclist who won several medals over a decade-long professional career. He made his professional debut in 1998 with the Euskaltel-Euskadi team and, after eleven seasons, signed with Astana in 2009. He excelled in Grand Tours , finishing tenth in the 2000 Vuelta a España , eleventh in the same race in 2002, as well as fifth in the 2003 Tour de France with two third-place finishes, two fourth-place finishes, and a fifth-place finish in different stages, fifteenth in 2005, eighth in 2006, fifth in 2007, and sixth in 2012.
He also excelled in the pre-Tour race, the Dauphiné Libéré , with second, third and sixth place finishes in the 2000, 2002 and 2008 seasons, respectively.
The cyclist from Usúrbil, Guipúzcoa, will share the starting line with other leading names in this discipline such as Joseba Beloki , or the world champion Abraham Olano , to which new additions will be added soon.
Also competing in this year's EPIC Gran Canaria Riu Hotels & Resorts, which returns to its usual February dates, will be Spanish M30 Cyclocross Champion Martín Mata Cabello, as well as Finnish champion Matti Helminen , who will be looking to defend his title for the third consecutive year. The EPIC Gran Canaria Riu Hotels & Resorts will also feature Davide Rebellín , runner-up in the World Cup, who has also participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the Giro d'Italia, among other competitions.
Registrations brought together more than 300 runners in the first 24 hours of registration, with participants from 15 different nationalities.
Two stages and three times
The EPIC Gran Canaria Riu Hotels & Resorts will kick off with a preliminary day for cycling professionals and enthusiasts, a prelude to the first of the two stages of the race, one with 115 kilometers and two timed sections and a second of 75 kilometers and a time trial climb.
The first stage starts from the Maspalomas Dunes viewpoint at the RIU Palace Maspalomas, where the horn will signal the beginning of the competition's main event. Participants will enjoy one of Gran Canaria's most popular and sought-after cycling routes, which will be exclusively for this event and will pass through iconic locations such as the Maspalomas Dunes, Arteara, Fataga, Tirajana, and El Pajar, ending at Pasito Blanco.
The first timed section begins in Aqualand on the way to Ayagaures , finishing at the summit of Pedro González. It is a 12,3-kilometer uphill time trial at an altitude of 470 meters, with a vertical gain of 460 meters and an average gradient of 4,4%.
The second time trial starts in Pasito Blanco and climbs to Ayacata , covering 45 kilometers, reaching an altitude of 1.304 meters, with a total elevation gain of 1.038 meters and an average gradient of 4,7%. This time trial passes through points such as El Pajar, Cercados de Espino, Soria, Barranquillo Andrés, the Las Niñas dam, and finishes at the summit of Ayacata.
The second stage features a single timed section within its 75 kilometers, a 22-kilometer uphill time trial . The stage starts at the RIU Palace Maspalomas hotel and heads towards the Mirador viewpoint, passing through Fataga before reaching Tirajana. This section has an altitude of 925 meters and an elevation gain of 810 meters, with average gradients of 4% . After the timed section, the cyclists will descend back to the RIU Palace Maspalomas hotel via Santa Lucía, La Era, Vecindario, Doctoral, and Bahía Feliz, following the GC-65 and GC-500 roads.
Teamwork
For its V edition, the EPIC Gran Canaria Riu Hotels & Resorts is sponsored by RIU Hotel & Resorts, the City Council of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, the Cabildo of Gran Canaria with the Tourist Board and within the framework of the European Island project. Sport, AVIS Canarias, Coca Cola, AquaBona, Maspalomas24h, La Estrella, Sonocom, Free Motion, Phisiorelax, Esenat, Fund Grube.