Team BikeExchange-Jayco head to the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana this Wednesday with Lucas Hamilton targeting a strong GC result, and Kaden Groves eyeing the chances that flatter stages will offer the sprinters.
The UCI ProSeries race always attracts a strong field of riders, as WorldTour teams use the five-day stage race to hone their early-season preparations for a busy schedule ahead.
Hamilton, Groves and Tsgabu Grmay will get their first race days of 2022 under their respective belts, as they join up with Damien Howson, Dion Smith and Chris Juul-Jensen, all of who come into Valencia fresh off the back of Challenge Ciclista Mallorca.
The queen stage of the race will be on the third day, a 155km route which finishes atop Alto de las Antenas del Maigmó Tibi and which also takes in the well-known Coll de Rates, with stages two, four and five offering sprint opportunities as the final day brings the race into Valencia city centre for its finale.
The team has enjoyed stage win success in recent editions of the race, and in its last participation in 2020 finished on the GC podium. Will we see a repeat this year?
Team BikeExchange-Jayco Line-Up:
Tsgabu Grmay (ETH)
Kaden Groves (AUS)
Lucas Hamilton (AUS)
Damien Howson (AUS)
Chris Juul-Jensen (DEN)
Dion Smith (NZL)
Lucas Hamilton – Team BikeExchange-Jayco rider:
“It’s my first race of the season and I’m looking forward to it. This is probably the longest I’ve gone without racing. Normally I’ve done [Australian] summer by now and am heading into a bit of a break before I start racing in Europe, so it’s a different programme than I’m used to but it’s nice to do something different and change it up a bit.
I think we’ve got a pretty strong team. Some of the boys have been racing in Mallorca already so it’s going to be good to join up with them. The first and third stages are definitely the more climbing heavy days, and I think we’ve got a team who can make the most of the opportunities available.
It’s been a lot of training, so it’s good to get back racing and get a feel of where I am before heading into the other races for the rest of the season. It should be a good week.”
David McPartland (Sport Director):
“Valencia is a really strong race with a high level and a good line-up of riders, and it’s a really important race at this early stage of the year in February as we continue the building phases and preparations for upcoming races such as Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico.
We’re going there with some key objectives; a high GC result for Lucas, who’ll be our leader, with a focus on the third stage, which will be the queen stage.
There are also some sprint opportunities for Kaden and Dion throughout the race, so we’ll be targeting those too as we look for a strong start to the season.”
2022 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana – Stage Details:
Wednesday, 2nd February: Stage 1, Les Alqueries to Torralba del Pinar, 166.7km
Thursday, 3rd February, Stage 2, Bétera to Torrent, 172.1km
Friday, 4th February, Stage 3, Alicante to Alto de las Antenas del Maigmó Tibi, 155.1km
Saturday, 5th February, Stage 4, Orihuela to Torrevieja, 193.1km
Sunday, 6th February, Stage 5, Paterna to Valencia, 92km
