A group of racers compete at the Club La Santa two-day mountain bike stage race.(Image credit: Bob Foy)
The varied terrain of Lanzarote is one of the reasons it is such a popular spot for professional teams to train.(Image credit: Bob Foy)
Several elite female mountain bikers, including recent Cyclingnews Reader Poll winner Gunn Rita Dahle Flesjaa, world marathon champion Annika Langvad and Sally Bigham are expected to test their early seasons legs a at a four-day mountain bike race at Club La Santa in Lanzarote from January 28 to January 31, 2012.
Racers from Spain, Germany, Norway, Denmark and the United Kingdom are expected and will cover a total of 195km over four days in the Canary Islands.
Saturday's race features a single 30km loop that will not be too technical. On Sunday, racers will do a 60km loop with more technical sections, including the lava field of the National Park of Timanfaya.
On Monday, a 25km off-road time trial will take racers on a gradual uphill route. And finally, on Tuesday, an 80km marthon will finish off those freeh January legs.
Among the elite men, Julien Absalon, Karl Platt and Kevin Van Hoovels have expressed interest in participating, but are not yet confirmed starters.
