The “Alentejana” over the five stages will cover 852.7 kilometers, 13 mountain prizes and 15 flying goals. It should be noted that in each of the finishes there will be 10, 6 and 4 seconds of bonus and in each of the flying goals of 3, 2 and 1 seconds, which have a high influence on the classification outcome.
The 125 runners confirmed today by the sports directors at the competition’s preparatory meeting will cover 168 kilometers this Wednesday, from Castro Verde to the city of Beja, where in Largo de Santo Amaro, with the Keep Tower, of Beja Castle, as “guardian -mor”, the first stage winner of this year’s edition of “Alentejana” will be crowned.
In this stage, the highlights are passages through Almodôvar, a cycling destination, Mértola, the old mining town of Mina de São Domingos, Cruz da Cigana, in the so-called Serra de Serpa, where good cheese is made in the region.
After passing through Serpa, the caravan will cross the historic village of Baleizão, in the municipality of Beja, with a “visit” to the Monument of Catarina Eufémia, when 70 years have passed since the date of her death.
Largo do Santo Amaro hosts a finisher from the Volta ao Alentejo for the second time, with Pedro Soeiro (Carvalhelhos/Boavista) winning the stage in 2005 and wearing the first yellow jersey of that edition.
Joaquim Gomes, director of the organization, spoke about this year’s edition:
“Keeping the four Alentejo sub-regions in the race has been the biggest goal. Fortunately, from Baixo to Alto Alentejo, from the Litoral to Central Alentejo, the receptivity of the mayors has allowed us to present a balanced route that in its initial phase will allow greater prominence to the sprinters, only thwarted by the demanding 3rd stage in which the crossing of the Serra de S. Mamede preceding the difficult final circuit in Castelo de Vide will naturally give the Trepadores an advantage. It will be in this context that bonuses could alter the attribution of favoritism to runners with certain characteristics and could drag the discussion of Victory to Évora.”
In addition to the Yellow Crédito Agrícola T-shirt (Individual General Classification by Times), the Green Delta Cafés T-shirt (Points Classification), the Blue Correio da Manhã T-shirt (Mountain Classification) and the White Turismo do Alentejo T-shirt (Youth Classification) are under discussion.
