Our stage-by-stage preview of the 30th edition of the Tour of Murcia which takes place between March 3-7.
Stage-by-stage preview of the 30th edition
After a hectic weekend involving five separate one-day races across Europe, there is no let up for Team Sky as the 30th edition of the Tour of Murcia (or Vuelta a Murcia) gets underway in the coastal resort of San Pedro del Pinatar. Over the space of five days the riders will then take on 630.8km of constantly-varying terrain before reaching their destination in Murcia's city centre.
Fortunately the early weather forecasts look favourable, with temperatures of around 17 degrees centigrade likely to greet the riders, and only a slight chance of rain on the second to last stage.
Here we take a look at the route the riders will face as they vie for glory in south-eastern Spain.
Wednesday 3 March: San Pedro del Pinatar to San Pedro del Pinatar - 166.5km
There's nothing too tricky for the riders to deal with on the opening stage of the tour as they head west out of San Pedro del Pinatar and inland towards the first climb up the category 3-rated Alto de la Cuesta, which rises to 347m after 74.4km. It's downhill all the way for the next 10km as the riders attempt to catch their breath but the road then rises again sharply for the second ascent, 329m up the Alto de Cedacero (catergory 3 at 94.5km). The route continues towards the coastline and there is one final category 3 climb on the Alto de Portman (145m at 129.6km) before the riders prepare themselves for the likely sprint finish back in San Pedro del Pinatar.
Thursday 4 March: Calasparra to Caravaca de la Cruz - 154.3km
Whereas the opening stage should be dominated by the sprinters, day two is definitely one for the mountain specialists as they will be forced to take on the Alto de San Juan twice in one day. This category 1-rated beast rises to 1,227m and initially comes 57.2km after the peloton roll out of Calasparra. Once they cross the summit for a first time, the riders continue in a clockwise loop via Archival (87.4km) and Caravaca de la Cruz (105.3km) before joining the original route again at Moratalla (117.5km). After that second, painful ascent they continue that loop again all the way back into Caravaca de la Cruz for the finale.
Friday 5 March: Las Torres de Cotillas to Alhama de Murcia - 166.5km
After two vastly differing days in the saddle, stage three is already being earmarked as the one which could really open the race up. It's relatively flat for the first 70km as the route heads out of Las Torres de Cotillas and north towards Archena. Once the riders reach there the road ramps up steadily until the 465m peak of the category 3-rated Alto de Pliego (97km). The action really hots up 15km fruther down the road though when they are greeted by the category 1 Alto de Espana (700m at 124.7km). In a fiendish twist, things only get worse from there however as the Alto de Collando Bermejo is looming large immediately after. Despite being rated in the same category, this monster rises to a lofty 1,150m and any attacks on here could prove decisive as it's downhill for the remaining 30km until the finish at Alhama de Murcia.
Saturday 6 March: Alhama de Murcia to Alhama de Murcia - 22km
An individual time trial has been chosen for the penultimate stage and the course runs between the town of Alhama de Murcia and its south-westerly neighbour Totana. The route is flat as a pancake and the riders cut back on themselves once they reach the halfway point in Totana. Any advantage the climbers have built up over the last two days could be put at risk if they are unable to match their earlier efforts back on level terrain.
Sunday 7 March: Redyser to Murcia - 121.1km
The final day's racing begins in Murcia's suburb of Redsyer and heads out of the city in a north-easterly direction towards Santomera (48.4km). From there the route cuts south for one last ascent up the category 2-rated Alto Cabezo de la Plata (408m at 68.9km) before continuing in an anti-clockwise route right around the outskirts of Murcia. The suburbs of San Jose de la Montana (93.4km) and El Palmar (101.5km) are both included before the riders cut back towards the city centre at Alcantarilla (110.3km). It's slightly downhill all the way into the finish so expect to see sprints aplenty during what should be a thunderous finale.
