The third edition of the Gran Fondo de La Nucía, to be held on 17 and 18 October, will reward €3,000 to the cyclist who beats Tadej Pogacar's time of 11 minutes and 57 seconds at Coll de Rates. The event includes the debut of the National Kids Critérium and entry into the UCI Gran Fondo World Series.
The Alicante town of La Nucía will host a weekend dedicated to cycling on 17 and 18 October with the third edition of the Gran Fondo, the International Critérium, and the debut of the National Kids Critérium. The organisation has announced a prize of €3,000 for anyone who manages to break Tadej Pogacar's record on the ascent to Coll de Rates, one of the most iconic climbs in the province.
The Slovenian, the reigning Tour de France champion, set a time of 11 minutes and 57 seconds on that climb last winter, a record that the organisation considers an exciting challenge for participants. Coll de Rates, a pilgrimage site for cyclists and professional teams during winter training camps, will once again be the setting for this challenge.
The main event will take place on Sunday, 18 October, with two routes designed by Miguel Induráin. The first, 132 kilometres long with a positive elevation gain of 2,275 metres, will start from La Nucía. The second, as a novelty, will be 71 kilometres long with nearly 1,000 metres of elevation, starting from Gorga. Both routes will traverse the landscapes of inland Alicante and aim to attract hundreds of national and international enthusiasts.
The event takes a step up in quality by entering this year into the UCI Gran Fondo World Series, the circuit that qualifies for the 2027 World Championship, to be held in France. This provides an additional incentive for cyclists looking for points for world ranking.
Activities will kick off on Saturday, 17 October, with the I National Kids Critérium La Nucía, the first competition of its kind organised in Spain. Participation will be free for boys and girls aged between 5 and 16, whether they are federated or not. The day will conclude with a new edition of the International Critérium, which will combine elimination and points races, and this year will include for the first time a duel between a professional cyclist and skater Sara Cabrera.
The event ambassador is once again Pedro Delgado, winner of the 1988 Tour de France and two-time Vuelta a España champion. His presence supports an event that consolidates the municipality's commitment to cycling.
The organisation will reveal the name of the main star of this edition in the coming weeks, after Mathieu van der Poel and Isaac del Toro headlined the event in 2024 and 2025. The mayor of La Nucía, Bernabé Cano, and the Sports Councillor, Sergio Villalba, presented the programme at the l'Edifici de l'Esport, alongside the president of the Podium Sports Club, Javier Castellar; the president of the Cycling Federation of the Valencian Community, José Enrique Gutiérrez, and Pedro Delgado.
For cyclists interested in participating, registrations are already open through the event's official channels. The challenge of Coll de Rates and the possibility of qualifying for the 2027 World Championship make this edition a must-attend for cycling enthusiasts.
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