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Wheels are Spinning for the Mallorca Challenge
As the cycling season kicks off, the big names head to Mallorca
The Mallorca Challenge is traditionally the opening race for many of world's best known cyclists and this year is no exception.
The British Sky team have already been in Mallorca for a few months as part of their pre-season training and are not only well recognised around the Island but they will be very familiar with the roads that will be used in the four day cycling event that begins this Thursday 29th January.
Bradley Wiggins however, will not start his season here this week as initially thought. It now looks like he will be starting his season at the Tour of Qatar in February. This will be the 34 year old's final few months with Team Sky as he moves on to create his own team later this year.
Team Sky has announced its full line-up for the set of one day races:
TROFEO SES SALINES, January 29
Ian Boswell, Bernhard Eisel, Andy Fenn, Christian Knees, Danny Pate, Ben Swift, Elia Viviani, Xabier Zandio
TROFEO SERRA DE TRAMUNTANA, January 30
Ian Boswell, Phil Deignan, Vasil Kiryienka, Christian Knees, Leopold Konig, Kanstantsin Siutsou, Ben Swift, Xabier Zandio
TROFEO MURO, January 31
Ian Boswell, Phil Deignan, Bernhard Eisel, Vasil Kiryienka, Leopold Konig, Danny Pate, Kanstantsin Siutsou, Xabier Zandio
TROFEO PALMA, February 1
Bernhard Eisel, Andy Fenn, Vasil Kiryienka, Christian Knees, Danny Pate, Ben Swift, Elia Viviani, Xabier Zandio
In addition to these names we are excited to see that German sprinter André Greipel of Lotto-Soudal and Spanish all-rounder Alejandro Valverde from Movistar have both announced that they will begin their 2015 seasons at the Mallorca Challenge.
Greipel announced on his website that he will not race in all four events, and also said that he will use the events for training. “First and foremost I would like to take the opportunity to further build my form. The preparation has gone very well and now I am looking forward to the first race.”
Valverde will be looking for a strong start to the season, and will lead a team of 12 riders through the four events including Jonathan Castroviejo, Imanol Erviti, John Gadret, Jesús Herrada, Beñat Intxausti, Ion Izagirre, Javi Moreno, José Joaquín Rojas, Fran Ventoso, Giovanni Visconti and Rory Sutherland.
Mallorca is a popular destination for cyclists of all abilities (not just the worlds elite!) due to its climate and the selection of cycling routes available. Many of the top international teams use Majorca to host their winter training camps so it can be a great place to spot some of your cycling heroes...particularly if you are here this week!
