The president of the Diputación, Santi Cabañero, traveled this Saturday to the town of Alcaraz to kick off the cyclists participating in the II Gravel Spain Cup, a national event that brought together the best riders in this discipline in the Alcaraz mountains.
Cabañero stated from the starting line that «Alcaraz is going to become the provincial capital of cycling sports this weekend, with two top-level events, both of which, thanks to the Diputación de Albacete, could be national benchmarks.»
«The first event taking place today, Saturday, is this Gravel Spain Cup, followed by the Gran Fondo Sierra de Alcaraz tomorrow, the flagship event of our Provincial Mountain Bike Circuit,» he added, as reported by the Diputación in a press release.
The president of the Diputación highlighted the great atmosphere in Alcaraz on this day and affirmed that «it is indisputable that sports are one of the driving forces of this province, and step by step, with work and a lot of enthusiasm, we are making it beat stronger than ever from the Diputación.»
Cabañero recalled that «more than 36,000 people have participated in one of the many sports offerings that we promote or support from the Diputación so far this year, and Alcaraz this weekend is a clear example of that, with over 650 cyclists registered in the two modalities.»
«The truly important and beautiful thing, what I focus on, is that here we will not only see important and illustrious names like Alejandro Valverde, Luis León Sánchez, Marta Tora, or Mónica Belda pedaling. Today and tomorrow, what will pedal is the prestige of this province, its projection, and its life, which becomes stronger when sports put it on the map.»
Finally, the president of the provincial Corporation reiterated that «these two events this weekend in Alcaraz are an example of the great commitment we are making from the Diputación de Albacete so that every sports event also becomes a vitamin for our growth,» and encouraged the large audience to enjoy, the athletes to pedal, and everyone to «once again demonstrate that sports shape our territory.»
EDU TALAVERA AND MARTA TORÁ TRIUMPH
After a promising start in 2024, the Gravel Spain Cup ‘Sierra de Alcaraz’ faced its second edition with a successful participation in the final stretch of the national competition. Edu Talavera in the elite male category and Marta Torá in the elite female category raised their arms at the finish line.
Nearly 200 participants, including renowned names like Alejandro Valverde, Marta Torá, Sofía Rodríguez, Raúl Castrillo, or Nacho Pérez, enjoyed a morning with fantastic weather and a «one hundred percent gravel» route of 117 kilometers and over 2250 meters of elevation gain.
The initial asphalt sections, about 20 kilometers including the ascents to La Mesta and Alto de Vianos, helped form the groups that would later compete for victory in the different categories. From those early stages, Castrillo, Cobos, Talavera, and Valverde made their way to stand out in the toughest part. Marta Torá did the same in the women’s category, with a comfortable lead of over 45 seconds.
At the first checkpoint, Talavera was already leading the race with the company of the U-23 riders Forns and Sergio Pérez. Despite a disadvantage of over 1 minute, Cobos, Castrillo, and Nacho Pérez managed to return to the leading group shortly after. Meanwhile, Alejandro Valverde was already over 2 minutes behind.
It was at the halfway point of the race when the quartet that would fight for victory was formed: Castrillo, Sergio Pérez, Cobos, and Talavera opened gaps with all the other pursuers and played a tight sprint for the win in Alcaraz, with Edu Talavera raising his arms with a time of 3 hours 48 minutes and 38 seconds.
In the final push, he secured the victory ahead of Cobos and Castrillo. In fourth place and the winner in the U-23 category was Sergio Pérez. Alejandro Valverde suffered a flat tire in the second half, eliminating him from the competition.
In the women’s category, a fall led to Sofía Rodríguez’s abandonment, paving the way for Marta Torá, who had no rival in the Sierra de Alcaraz with a time of 4 hours 29 minutes and 18 seconds.
The victories in the other categories went to Loren Herrera in the master 30, Óscar Valdepeñas in the master 40, Basilio Polvillo in the master 50, and David Soler in the master 60. In the women’s category, the victory in the master 30 went to Mónica Belda.
In the overall standings of the Gravel Spain Cup, after the third race, Raúl Castrillo leads in the elite male category, and Marta Torá leads in the elite female category.