On Saturday, Caja Rural - Seguros RGA will take on Vuelta a Asturias with an ambitious team consisting of the following eight riders: Hugh Carthy, Sergio Pardilla, Eduard Prades, Ángel Madrazo, Antonio Molina, Fabricio Ferrari, Jonathan Lastra and Javier Aramendia.
 
The Spanish stage race has been prolonged to three stages this year, taking part from Saturday the 30th of April to Monday the 2nd of May. The Queen Stage comes on the first day of racing with the finish on Alto del Acebo. This 9.5 km category 1 climb has an average gradient of 8 % and could potentially determine the overall winner of the race on stage 1 already. However, with two undulating stages remaining and 10-6-4 bonus seconds up for grabs every day, nothing is settled until the riders cross the line in Uría on stage 3.
 
Sports director Josemi Fernández said: “As always, Vuelta a Asturias presents a very hard and selective course, this year with an additional stage. The finish on El Acebo will carry a lot of weight in terms of who will win the race overall. Still, the terrain in the final two stages makes it possible to attack at any moment. We hope that our leaders Hugh Carthy and Sergio Pardilla can fight for the overall win”.