Starting on Thursday the 16th of June, Caja Rural - Seguros RGA will take on the French stage race, Route du Sud, with a very capable team of riders well-suited for all terrains. The first two stages are expected to end in a bunch sprint, while stage three is a short but undulating 13.4 km individual time trial.
 
Stage 4 is the queen stage of this year’s Route de Sud. Here, the riders will take on the legendary climb, Col du Tourmalet, before finishing on Col du Couraduque. The final ascent is 6.8 km long and has an average gradient of 7.7 % with parts of 13 %. This is most likely where the general classification will be settled. The final stage of the race takes place on a 19 km circuit in Clermont-Pouyguillès, which the peloton will cover eight times before crossing the finishing line for the final time.
 
Knowing that the hard day in the mountains on stage 4 will dictate the overall winner, Caja Rural - Seguros RGA arrives at the race with a strong group of climbers consisting of Hugh Carthy, David Arroyo, Sergio Pardilla and Ricardo Vilela who finished eighth overall in the race last year. Carthy has had a great season so far, going head-to-head with some of the best climbers in the world. Now, the 21-year-old Brit hopes to shine on the climbs once again.
 
Hugh Carthy said: “Personally, I aim for a high position in the GC and a good performance on stage 4. I don’t feel any extra pressure. I have trained hard for this race and I know my abilities. I will try to do my best from the start to the finish, which is all I can do”.
 
Sports director Eugenio Goikoetxea added: “This is an important and difficult race in which we will face strong teams and good riders who are fine-tuning their shape ahead of the Tour de France. We come here with a versatile team capable of doing well in all kinds of terrains. As always, we will fight until the end. With this attitude, we aim to bring home a good result”.
 
Line-up for Route du Sud: '

Hugh Carthy, David Arroyo, Sergio Pardilla, Ricardo Vilela, Carlos Barbero, Lluis Mas, Jonathan Lastra and Antonio Molina.