The route details of the revamped La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es continue to trickle in as organisers, Unipublic, confirm that the seven-day race will start in Torrevieja in Spain on May 1.
The official announcement was made on Wednesday at a meeting at the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD) in Madrid attended by its president José Manuel Franco, Torrevieja Mayor Eduardo Dolón, now-retired professional cyclist Dori Ruano, and Executive Director of Unipublic Javier Guillén.
“It is a source of enormous pride that Spain signifies, hand in hand with sport, a leading country in the development and promotion of women. The fact of welcoming one of the three great cycling tours, with an event that has gained its own space on the international calendar, reinforces the importance that women’s sports already has in our country," Franco said.
“In this sense, I must highlight the commitment of public institutions, Unipublic and Carrefour, which this year has joined the Universo Mujer program to support La Vuelta Femenina. The Consejo Superior de Deportes is especially proud to add this kind of support. The public policies the Spanish Government is promoting in favour of equality have a greater impact when accompanied by the support and initiative of the private sector. Carrefour’s collaboration allows us to move faster in building a better future for the women and girls of our country."
In a major shake-up for the former Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, organisers changed its name to La Vuelta Feminina, expanded the race to seven stages, and moved it to May 1-7 in 2023.
However, very little information has been publicly confirmed about the route. The only detail offered up until the confirmation that it will start in Torrevieja was that it would start somewhere along the 200km-long Costa Blanca coastline.
Teams have complained about the lack of information about the seven-day race; however, Unipublic has confirmed that the full route will be revealed at a ceremony on February 28.
The start location is not new to professional cycling as the men's Vuelta a España began in Torrevieja during the 2019 edition with a 13.4km team time trial that started from the Salinas de Torrevieja.
“At the Torrevieja City Council, we are pleased to have this very satisfactory synergy once again between La Vuelta and Torrevieja. We are about to celebrate four years since the historic start of La Vuelta from the Salinas de Torrevieja” said Dolón.
“The promotion of women’s sports is what motivated us most to unite, once again, with the event. We have held international events, such as the Handball World Championship, and we wanted to be present at the first edition of La Vuelta Femenina. Thanks to the Diputación Provincial de Alicante, we managed to be the start of the great Spanish tour again. We are motivated to create a different start to the race. We will have a background image of Las Salinas, but we are going to give a lot of presence to the sports city, which is one of the most important in the south.
“We want to link cycling and La Vuelta. We are very happy and grateful the race is coming, as we say, to its home, Torrevieja."
La Vuelta Femenina route will be revealed next February 28 at 19:00 CET. The gala will take place at the Torrevieja International Music Conservatory Auditorium and will be broadcast live on Teledeporte and the social networks of the race.
“La Vuelta Femenina is a project that we have worked on with great care and enthusiasm together with essential partners, such as the Consejo Superior de Deportes, Carrefour, and all the host venues and sponsors that will make this first edition possible. It is a source of pride that Costa Blanca and Torrevieja are once again committed to top-level cycling, as they already were with the start of La Vuelta in 2019," Guillén said.
“If we have one of the three most important races in men's cycling, it is essential to have one of the three greats in women's cycling. La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es was born and will grow with a new identity and with its strength. We are looking forward to announcing the full tour next week."
