Seven Andalusian runners will be at the start of Ubrique (Cádiz) on Wednesday 16 the 2022 edition of the Vuelta Ciclista a Andalucía which ends on Sunday 20 February

Seven Andalusian runners will be at the start of Ubrique (Cádiz) on Wednesday 16 the 2022 edition of the Vuelta Ciclista a Andalucía What will end on Sunday 20 February. So Andalusian cycling will be very well represented in this edition with several names that can be very protagonists in the five stages that we will enjoy on the streets of the Andalusian autonomous community. Luís ngel Maté (EUS), Carlos Rodríguez (IGD), Alejandro Ropero (EOK), Juan Antonio López Cózar (BBH), José Manuel Díaz (GAZ), Cristian Rodríguez (TEN) and lvaro Cuadros (CJR) They will host special events for them and spectacular for fans.

‘The Andalusian lynx’ Luis ngel Mate (37) He is the oldest of the Andalusians participating in the Andalusian round and will once again be one of the protagonists of the race in his homeland in the 68th edition which will start on the 16th in the city of Cadiz, Ubrique and will last until Sunday 20 February. . The cyclist from Marbella previously had the chance to become the rider to win the most mountain general classifications in racing history, drawing with Francisco Cabello. This will be his ninth participation in his country tour and he will do so after a successful career that includes 10 participations in the Vuelta a España, 6 participations in the Tour de France, 11 Lièges and 10 Flechas Walloons. Now, in the Euskadi team he has an important role in helping the young promises of the Basque formation, although of course he has a few bullets in the chamber to show in racing in his country.

At only 21 years old, Carlos Rodriguez happens to be one of the strongest promises of Spanish cycling and a clear contender for a late race win and make Andalusia win again on its soil. The runner from Almuñécar (Granada) will compete in his second Ruta del Sol as one of the leaders of one of the most important squads in the international peloton and will arrive well after his podium at the Vuelta a Valencia. Rodríguez is an all-terrain runner capable of fighting at both high altitude and the test of time, with which he landed on his Andalusian trail to fight for the victory he last year fought with team mate Ethan Hayter, eventually finishing fourth. will be occupied by Spaniard from Caja Rural Seguros RGA Julen Amezqueta who is just 33 seconds away from him. Despite his youth, the Granada native has set a race record representing Spain in the previous world championship held in Belgium, where he also took part in a time trial where he became the best Spaniard, finishing 25th in the Tour del Porvenir and a place his tenth at the Tour de Britannia in England, placing him among the young candidates for everything in the years to come, a fact that in Andalusia he will be fighting for his first win among the professionals in the peloton.

The presence of a runner from El Ejido Cristian Rodríguez (26) also offers an interesting option to be with the main race leaders in the general classification. The ejido native returned to racing in his homeland where he has not participated since he did in 2019, where he finished 19th and where he came off with his best in the tricky final of Granada. For the man from Almería, 2021 will be his year of professional service following his victory in the general classification of the Tour of Rwanda and his fourth place in the Tour of Occitania. This will be his fourth participation in the Andalusian round he has participated in, apart from the 2019 edition, in 2018 where he finished 23rd and in 2016 he retired in the last stage ending in Peñas Blancas (Málaga).

Jose Manuel Diaz Gallego (GAZPROM) He is a cycling adventurer after joining the Russian team from his native Jaén. José Manuel Díaz Gallego (27) from Jaen, after a great last year, in which he won the Tour of Turkey in the Delko ranks and a stage with a high finish, has become a runner with a stamp who wants to be a protagonist in his country. Díaz participated in the Andalusian event in 2018 and 2017, then in the ranks of the Israeli team. On this occasion he will have the opportunity to show off his new colors on the many roads he often travels in his practice sessions, the slopes of the province of Jaén waiting to make him shine in racing in his homeland.

Alvaro Cuadros (Caja Rural Seguros RGA) should also play an important role in his career. The man from Granada is present in the team that took the podium last year by finishing third and of course he wants to add even better results. The runner from La Zubia will come to his homeland with the aim of being the protagonist and fighting to be the best Andalusian in the race in which he has participated five times. In his sixth participation, he will have another chance to get on the podium after two failures. In particular, he came in second in the final of the mountain grand prix general. In 2019 after Simón Yates and in 2018 after Lluís Más. In 2020 he finished eighth in the stage ending in Granada to finish 21st in the final general classification and last year he was 5th in the mountain general classification, his debut trailed behind him in 2014 he had to go in second stage.

The cyclist from Loja returns to racing on his land Juan Antonio Lopez-Cozar (27). “Chupe” wants to be the protagonist in appointments set on his calendar and which stretch along the roads he usually frequents to train, two of which are in Granada. This will be his third participation in his autonomous community tour after taking part in it in the 2018 and 19 editions. After a year, in 2020, in which he qualified again, he returned to the professional hand in hand with the Castilian-Leon team with which he hopes to return. became a competitive cyclist who finished third in the Clásica de Ordicia or third, also on the Portugal Tour for youth.

the grenadian Alexander Robero (23), winner of a stage at the Giro for children in 2020, is part of a new generation of national riders who have taken decisive steps to become the successor generation of Spanish cycling. This will be the first occasion where he is debating the race of his homeland and he will have an important stage he knows very well to showcase on the street he frequents in his training sessions. Surely he enjoyed it together with his compatriots and the exam helped him to gain experience.