Andalucía Bike Race presented by Shimano launc hed at FITUR

Spain’s most renown MTB stage race faces its eighth edition

FITUR, the International Tourism Fair that takes place in Madrid, has hosted the presentation of the eighth edition of Andalucía Bike Race presented by Shimano, to be held in the provinces of Jaén and Córdoba from February 25th to March 2nd.

The event was attended by Francisco Javier Fernández, Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Junta de Andalucía; Isabel Ambrosio, Mayor of Córdoba; Antonio Ruiz, President of the Diputación de Córdoba; Francisco Reyes, President of the Diputación de Jaén; Juan Fernández, Mayor of Linares; Jesús del Moral, Deputy Mayor of the City Council of Andújar; Xavier Bartrolí, President of Octagon Esedos; and the Olympic medallists and race ambassadors José Antonio Hermida and Carlos Coloma.

All the speakers who took part in the presentation of Andalucía Bike Race presented by Shimano 2018 highlighted the importance of a first class UCI event. They also all agreed that the beauty of the landscape, the unique singletrails of the area, the organisation and the prestige of the international mountain bikers that come together year after year, make the event an incredible competition.

Since its inception, Andalucía Bike Race presented by Shimano has been part of the calendar approved by the International Cycling Union (UCI) to become a MTB’s first class. The race has had World, European and National champions, Olympic medallists and the world’s best mountain bikers.

Six days of pure MTB

The eighth edition of Andalucía Bike Race presented by Shimano will begin in the province of Jaén, where the first three stages will raced. Two hosted in Linares and one in Andújar. The first stage, and for the third year in a row, will be an individual time trial. Linare’s mining district will be responsible for defining this edition’s first classification. The second stage is unprecedented and very rolling that will serve to see which mountain bikers present the candidacy for the final victory. Andujar’s stage is a legendary one for Andalucía Bike Race presented by Shimano and will serve as a transition between the provinces of Jaén and Córdoba. The long climb to Virgen de la Cabeza along La Centenera will preceed the Caracolillo’s twisty descent, followed by the demanding climb of El Madroño to finish descending Camino Viejo. A stage to start setting differences.

The fourth stage will be the queen stage and will coincide with the Day of Andalusia. This stage of 93 kilometers will pass through the most emblematic places of Cordoba’s sierra. The fifth stage will visit an unprecedented location so far in the race, Villaviciosa de Córdoba. The first half of this fifth stage will be very fast and the second part will be decisive for the final result. Finally, the start will return to Córdoba to witness the last 57 kilometers that will decide everything.

In total, 392 km and 8,518 meters of climbing.