The EPIC Gran Canaria RIU Hotels & Resorts adds a new star to its lineup, CLAUDIO CHIAPPUCCI, who faced Miguel Induráin in his sporting career, joins the Gran Canaria challenge that is being held this weekend in the south of the island.
The EPIC Gran Canaria Riu Hotels & Resorts adds another star to its peloton of big names in this fifth edition, which will be held from February 11 to 13 , 2022. Claudio Chiappucci joins the most popular cycling event in Gran Canaria and continues to help this race reach record levels with more than a dozen top athletes in its ranks.
Claudio Chiappucci , an Italian cyclist with a distinguished professional career, rose to prominence in the 80s and 90s under the nickname 'Il Diavolo' (The Devil), a moniker that made Miguel Induráin sweat as a combative climber. He made a name for himself in the 1990 Tour de France and achieved historic feats, such as winning the 13th stage of the 1992 Tour de France , one of the toughest stages of the race, where he established himself as one of the most brilliant climbers of the era in an epic race for professional cycling.
'El Diavolo' was one of Induráin's great rivals, he climbed onto the podium of the Giro and the Tour and was known and recognized as a 'brave' and daring athlete , becoming one of the great myths of cycling in the 90s.
Claudio Chiappucci will be joined at the EPIC Gran Canaria Riu Hotels & Resorts by several of the greats of this discipline, such as two-time world champion Mario Cipollini , one of the fastest men in history, Fred Rompelberg who held the record for 23 years, as well as Haimar Zubeldia , Joseba Beloki , or world champion Abraham Olano.
A peloton of top riders has already confirmed their participation in the Gran Canaria challenge, where the runner-up of the World Cup, cyclist of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the Giro d'Italia Davide Rebellin , who is repeating in the event, the Spanish M30 Cyclocross champion, Martín Mata Cabello, and the Finnish champion Matti Helminen, who will be looking to retain his title in the EPIC Gran Canaria Riu Hotels & Resorts for the third consecutive year, will also be doing their thing on the pedals.
Registrations brought together more than 300 riders in the first 24 hours of registration, with participants from 15 different nationalities and no shortage of stars this year, making it a meeting point for great names in international cycling of all time.
Two stages and three times
The EPIC Gran Canaria Riu Hotels & Resorts will kick off with a pre-event for cycling professionals and enthusiasts, featuring talks, conferences and debates that will serve as a warm-up for the first of the two stages of the race, 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 starting gun will fire for the competition's main event. Athletes will enjoy one of Gran Canaria's most popular cycling routes, exclusively for this race—a stunning circuit that takes in iconic landmarks such as the Maspalomas Dunes, Arteara, Fataga, Tirajana, and El Pajar, all the way to Pasito Blanco.
The first timed section begins at Aqualand on the way to Ayagaures , finishing at the summit of Pedro González. It's a 12,3-kilometer uphill time trial at an altitude of 470 meters, with a 460-meter elevation gain and an average gradient of 4,4% . The second time trial starts at Pasito Blanco on the climb to Ayacata , covering 45 kilometers, reaching an altitude of 1.304 meters, with a 1.038-meter elevation gain and an average gradient of 4,7%. This uphill 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 along its 75-kilometer route, where cyclists will tackle 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 climbs to an altitude of 925 meters with an elevation gain of 810 meters and 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 and Turismo Gran Canaria, 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.