Two days after the Ordiziako Klasika, a young squad from UAE Team Emirates-XRG will head to the Vuelta a Castilla y León on Sunday. Covi, Johansen, Morgado, and Schwarzbacher will arrive from the Basque Country, while Rui Oliveira will join the ranks, as will two Generation Z talents: Marcos Freire and Davide Stella .
For Stella, the race will mark her debut in UAE Team Emirates-XRG colors, with the Emirati squad looking for their maiden victory. The team's previous best result was George Bennett's second place in 2022, while Rui's brother, Ivo Oliveira, finished fifth last season.
Held in Castile and León, this one-day race was first held in 1985 and has been won by both versatile sprinters and pure climbers. The three classified climbs of the 201-km route are located in the first half of the race, before a 1.4-km final ramp to the finish in Eras del Castillo, with an average gradient slightly higher than 7%.
That final kicker in Peñafiel will virtually guarantee an explosive finish on Sunday afternoon, when Caleb Ewan's successor is crowned.
Press: UAE Emirates – XRG
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