MADRID, 5 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Spanish champion Usoa Ostolaza will lead the national team at the 2024 European Road Championships, which will be held in the Belgian region of Limburg from 11 to 14 September and where Mavi García, sixth in the last Olympic Games in Paris 2024 and national runner-up in this modality, will not be present.
The Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi rider is among the seven cyclists selected for the road race, which will be held on September 14, the Royal Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) announced in a statement on Thursday.
Coach Gema Pascual has chosen Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal Team), Sandra Alonso (Ceratizit-WNT), Ariana Gilabert (Eneicat-CMTeam), Yurani Blanco (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi) and Sara Martín and Sheyla Gutiérrez, from the Movistar Team, to form a team with the reigning Spanish champion. The notable absence is Mavi García, who will compete in the Tour de Romandie between 6 and 8 September.
The riders will face a total of 162 kilometres with 905 metres of gradient, starting in the town of Heusden-Zolder and finishing in Hasselt, the capital of Limburg. The first 30 kilometres will take them to the urban circuit in Hasselt, where they will do one and a half laps, before joining the 32-kilometre circuit.
On this route they will complete two laps, climbing the Kolmontberg and the Zammelenberg, and will pass through two sections of cobblestones, Manshoven and Op de Kriezel. With just 40 kilometres to go, they will once again head towards the Hasselt street circuit, which they will complete for another one and a half laps, until they have completed the course.
On Wednesday 11 September, Mireia Benito and Sandra Alonso will compete in the individual time trial on a flat 31.2-kilometre course, starting in Heusden-Zolder and finishing in Hasselt.
Benito lands in Belgium with the reputation of being two-time Spanish champion in this modality and having been the Spanish representative at the Paris Olympic Games, while the Alicante native will try to continue with the good dynamic that led her to conquer the Spanish runner-up position in this modality.
This championship will be the last ‘test’ before the World Championships, which will take place in Zurich (Switzerland) between 22 and 29 September.