In a packed week of racing in which Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe is represented in three competitions, the team's program includes the Vuelta a Andalucia (2.Pro) in addition to the UAE Tour (2.UWT) and the Volta ao Algarve (2.Pro).
Last year, protesting farmers turned a five-day tour into a time trial of less than five kilometers. Blocked roads and a lack of police forces to secure the race meant that nothing more was possible. Maxim Van Gils also took part a year ago. What's more, the Belgian won the time trial and thus also the stage race.
“The winner takes it all, they said. And that sounded good to me,” says defending champion Van Gils, now that he will race the Ruta del Sol, as the race is called, again. “It was a nice reward for eight minutes of full speed,” he says, still happy about his first victory in the UCI ProSeries. A good compensation for the otherwise not so easy days in Spain. “In the evening before the stage, the question always arose: Will there be a race? The answer was usually no, we go for a training ride. But on the third day, we were told at lunch that there was going to be this little time trial.”
This time, nothing stands in the way of a Vuelta a Andalucia with five more or less hilly stages. “The profile of the stages actually suits me. Many of the climbs are steep, but not too long,” says Van Gils, who is still feeling the effects of his crash at the Etoile de Bessèges a little, but has already had a few good training sessions and sees himself on the right way with the spain race in preparation for the rest of the season. “But races are never just preparation for me. They are also there to achieve goals. You can prepare at home,” is how he formulates his plan.
Giovanni Aleotti, Alexander Hajek, Emil Herzog and the two rookies Lennart Jasch and Luke Tuckwell will also be racing alongside Van Gils for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe in Andalusia.
Photo: Getty Sport