La Vueltina wants to grow: the Asturian test wants to expand the number of stages

by time news

With 98 years of history, in its 65th edition, the war and the economic crisis suspended several editions, the Cycling Tour of Asturias, the “Vueltina”, plans to enjoy this year’s race, but with ambitions for the future immediate. The test will take place between April 28 and 20, with Iván Sosa (Movistar) defending the title in a three-stage tour that will show the most admirable places in the Principality. But the organization, with its president Cristina Álvarez Mendo at the helm, wants the test to continue growing. His plans? That the next edition of the “Vueltina” grow to four or five stages and that it stabilizes there, with the 2025 test to celebrate the hundred years of life.

Álvarez Mendo tells of his plans. “As soon as the government is formed in June, I want to sit down with the Principality to plant them where they want the test to be,” says the director. Her intention is to expand the economic aid of the Principality since “it is striking that the Oviedo City Council makes a more generous contribution than the regional government when the Vuelta is an ideal showcase to show off Asturias,” she says.

In his defense of the test, which only the Volta a Catalunya surpasses in longevity, Álvarez Mendo does not forget the contributions of the different municipalities that collaborate. Even those who do it in a more humble way. “There are some like Corvera, Llanera or Langreo who, without being a start or finish, contribute generously,” he underlines.

The current edition has parallels with last year’s, although with nuances. The stages are held between Oviedo and Pola de Lena, Candás and Cangas del Narcea and Cangas del Narcea and Oviedo. The promotions to Acebo and Tenebreo appear as keys in a race that this time has a more international character than ever: there are fifteen confirmed teams of eight different nationalities. In addition to Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, the United States, New Zealand and the Philippines will have a team. Each team has yet to confirm its final list of participants, but the organization already has Movistar’s word that the Colombian Iván Sosa, winner last year, will be on the starting line at the Los Prados shopping center in Oviedo. «For us it is an illusion that the Vuelta continues after so long. We invest our time, none of us are professionals in this, we have other jobs, and we would like the test to have greater economic stability”, mentions Álvarez Mendo. His intention is that the municipalities that commit themselves do so for a period of four years, as Oviedo does, and he wants to build bridges with Gijón and Llanes, “they are two cities that have to return.” The director insists: «The Tour of Asturias is apolitical, we have agreements with the United Left in Lena, with the PSOE in Cangas de Narcea and with the PP in Oviedo. And it is, above all, a unique opportunity to promote the Principality”.

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