Between the demanding Spanish Cup event in La Canonja and a double Cantabrian commitment

A busy weekend lies ahead for the Fundación Contador youth squad, with a third Spanish Cup race on Saturday, travelling to Tarragona to take part in the Trofeu 15 d’abril de La Canonja and, on both Saturday and Sunday, in a series of Cantabrian road races held in the Camargo area.

For the Cup, an expert team, five second year runners, in good shape and with a lot of motivation. Gerard Cano, Héctor García, Pablo Leno, Iván Loaisa, Álvar Martín, Balazs Pollner and Manuel Sanroma compete in the race, already a Cup classic, which commemorates the constitution as an autonomous municipality of La Canonja, until 2010 dependent on Tarragona. The chain of La Teixeta, Porrera and Alforja always generates a great selection.

Martín returns to the competition after several weeks to recover from the after-effects of a fall in the Víctor Cabedo. “I’m looking forward to it”, says the Spaniard. “Due to the fall in the first race of the Víctor Cabedo Trophy, which I was very well prepared for, I had to stop and recover. It’s hard when you can’t do what you like. A few days ago I resumed my preparation to come back with strength. I’m excited to start the competition, after a hard work of recovery”.

For the Memorial Chele del Campo de Cacicedo and the Gran Premio El Baruco de Igollo de Camargo, Gorka Beloki has put together a team that combines youth with the freshness of a new face: Dani Díaz, Iker Díaz, Miguel Domínguez, Mario Gómez, Iván Polo and Hugo Pradas are now joined by the Galician Sergio Calvo, a newcomer to the project.

Miguel Domínguez is one of the three second year riders of the expedition: “As for the profile, the two races will have as main difficulty the Alto de El Churi and probably it will be there where both races will be decided. It’s a pass that I’ve already climbed a few times and the truth is that, although it’s short, it’s always hard. The idea is always the same: to work united and together with the aim of doing our best”.

Both races share the protagonism of the ascent to El Churi, a classic of the area, as a fundamental point for the selection of its development. The Memorial Chele del Campo, however, is possibly tougher as it is run twice.

22nd April: Trofeu 15 d’abril – Spanish Cup: La Canonja – La Canonja (125 km).

22 April | 32 Memorial Chele del Campo: Cacicedo de Camargo – Cacicedo de Camargo (95.1 km).

23 April | Gran Premio El Baruco: Igollo de Camargo – Igollo de Camargo (87 km).