CCC Sprandi Polkowice will complete the Spanish campaign which opens up the 2016 season, by racing in Ruta Ciclista Del Sol.

"The race in Andalusia is very demanding and runs through hilly terrain. Because of that we are basically lining up only climbers," says Piotr Wadecki, sporting director of CCC Sprandi Polkowice. "Victor de la Parte will be the team’s leader. He has shown in Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana that he is in good form early in the season. Also the course of the race – with a mountain top finish and a time trial - suits him.

"Besides the Spaniard, we have selected a few other riders who can perform well on the long climbs, such as Sylwester Szmyd, Jan Hirt and Łukasz Owsian.

"Ruta del Sol is another event in our program, which draws many of the greatest cyclists in the world. That’s the only way to increase the level of our riders and prepare for the biggest World Tour stage races, such as Tour de Pologne, which has been our main goal in the previous years."

The 5-day event kicks off with the sprinters’ stage to Sevilla. The next day the peloton will face a cat. 3 climb which is located 23 kilometers from the line and may cause some stir in the group. There are 4 KOMs on the menu of Stage 3. The last one, cat. 2, is only 13 kilometers from the finish and it’s expected that the bunch will shatter in the end. On the penultimate day of racing, a 21-kilometer individual time trial will be held. It’s mostly flat so the TT specialists should make the top of the list. The most demanding stage will be played out on the last day of competition. It's wrapped with a 14-kilometer slope to Peñas Blancas. That climb was also on the route of Vuelta a Espana 2013.

Sylwester Szmyd put on a great performance in Ruta del Sol 2015. He finished the queen stage to Alto de Allanadas in 4th, only behind the biggest stars of cycling – Christopher Froome, Alberto Contador and Mikel Nieve.

Line-up of CCC Sprandi Polkowice to Ruta del Sol: 

Victor de la Parte, Felix Großschartner, Sylwester Szmyd, Jan Hirt, Marcin Mrożek, Łukasz Owsian, Leszek Pluciński