Ruta del Sol 2017 Route stage 1: Rincón de la Victoria

Ruta del Sol 2017 Route stage 1: Rincón de la Victoria – Granada

Wednesday, 15 February 2017 – The 1st stage of the Ruta del Sol travels from coastal town Rincón de la Victoria to Granada. At 155 kilometres, the route takes in a fair amount of uphill torture. Five peaks, the last one is crested with 19 kilometres remaining. Bienvenidos a España!

Stage 1 in the Ruta del Sol starts in Rincón de la Victoria on the Costa del Sol. The first part of the race travels on the same roads as stage 12 in the upcoming Vuelta, only in opposite direction

In Torre del Mar the riders leave the coast to head inland through the comarca Axarquia. They pass capital Vélez-Málaga and Lake Viñuela before the ramps are getting steeper. After cresting the Puerto de Zafarraya (1st category) the road continues for another 50 kilometres on mountainous terrain. In order of appearance Alto del Navazo (3rd category), Alto de Alhama (3rd category) and Alto del Lucero (2nd category) make way for a rolling intermezzo that leads to the foot of the Puerto de Monachil. This 1st category climb is 8.2 kilometres at 7,5% and at the top there are 19 kilometres left to race.

Last year, stage 3 in the Ruta del Sol started in the municipality Monachil, but the climb was not included. The last time a major race did include the Puerto de Monachil was in 2013. In stage 10 of the Vuelta it was was the penultimate climb before the mountaintop arrival on Alto Hazallanas. Chris Horner was the victor that day.

That same year the Ruta del Sol visited Rincón de la Victoria with Alejandro Valverde outsprinting a front group of thirteen riders. Yellowed pages tell us about the last time the Vuelta a Andalucía was in Granada. In 2003 the race left here and at the end of the day Ruslan Ivanov from Moldova was a happy man, winning ahead of Santiago Blanco Gil.

Results/race report 1st stage 2017 Ruta del Sol.