Quito -
Six stages will be disputed in the 37th edition of the Vuelta Ciclística al Ecuador, which in what has been considered the best year for national cycling will pay tribute to Ecuadorian riders who have excelled in international competitions.
Wins in the Giro d'Italia, La Vuelta a España, and the Vuelta a Colombia Femenina are part of Ecuador's rich cycling history in 2020, with Ecuadorian riders on the podium. Hence, the organization of the national race seeks to recognize these cyclists.
The race starts on November 23 with the stage between Los Bancos and Pedernales (177.3 kilometers), a section that will be named after Jonathan Caicedo, winner of the third stage of the Giro with the EF Pro Cycling Team.
- Ecuador, on the podium of the Giro d'Italia with Jonathan Caicedo, winner of the third stage
The second stage between Pedernales and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas (133.1 km) will be run in tribute to Miryam Núñez, champion of the Vuelta a Colombia this year.
- Miryam Núñez: 'Victory in the Vuelta is for the warrior women of my Ecuador'
The third stage (123.8 km) will run from Machachi to Olmedo, in Cayambe, this time in homage to Byron Guamá, Ecuador's most accomplished active rider in the Ecuadorian race with four titles won, and who this year will be the leader of the Ecuadorian continental team Best PC-Toscana.
San Roque - La Estrellita (120 km) is the fourth stage of the race. This stage will be named after Jorge Montenegro, defending champion of the competition and the top reference for local cyclists today. This year he will be the head of the Movistar Team.
Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers), the winner of stage 12 of the Corsa Rosa, will also be recognized with the fifth stage of the national race, which will run from El Playón de San Francisco, his hometown, to Atuntaqui, with a distance of 130.4 kilometers.
- Jhonatan Narváez conquers stage 12 of the 2020 Giro d'Italia
The stage that will define the champion of the Vuelta al Ecuador will be in tribute to Richard Carapaz, runner-up this year in La Vuelta a España and winner of the Giro in 2019. This stage will be run in circuit mode (100 km) in San Antonio de Pichincha, in the Middle of the World.
- Ineos Grenadiers: Richard Carapaz, 'the pride of Ecuador'
This year, the cycling caravan will be made up of a total of 17 teams, including continental, national, international, and local teams.
Anti-Doping and Sanitary Controls
The Organizing Committee of the Vuelta al Ecuador detailed that the operational tasks of anti-doping control for the competition will be carried out by the National Anti-Doping Organization of Ecuador, with the collaboration of the National Anti-Doping Agency of Guatemala, an agreement that pursues a competition in accordance with the demands of the International Cycling Union.
"From the first to the last stage, as many controls as necessary will be carried out, both in the competition and outside of it, to detect the presence of prohibited substances, blood transfusions, growth hormones, etc.," the organization detailed in a statement.
Similarly, the organization of the competition has a detailed plan for coronavirus controls in the caravan, which will undergo PCR tests to enter the "safety bubble".
"Every cyclist and member of the technical staff of each of the teams invited to the event must undergo the PCR test 72 hours before the start of the event and send the results to the organizing committee. The same will apply to the international commissioners assigned by the UCI or commissioners invited by the organization to judge the event," the organization explained.
With this protocol, if suspicious cases are found during the event, "the organization has planned a special protocol to isolate from the caravan anyone who presents symptoms compatible with the COVID-19 virus. Likewise, if a team has two or more positive cases, they will be automatically excluded from the competition". (D)