Ceratizit Challenge announce "toughest route yet"

The Ceratizit Challenge organizers have released the course of their expanded five-day race, which will take place from September 7-11, calling it the "toughest route yet." The event will include five stages for the first time, one more than the previous edition, over a varied route that spans northern and central Spain.

The route’s official presentation took place at the Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria, in Santander. It was confirmed that the race had expanded last December during the official route presentation for the men's Vuelta a España at the Palacio Municipal – IFEMA in Madrid, but little information for the women's event was given at that time.

"You only have to see the extremely high level of participation in 2021 to understand its importance in the Women’s WorldTour calendar. We must respond to the challenge demanded by the riders and do so by making it the toughest route to date," said Javier Guillén, general director of Unipublic, at that time.

According to organizers, the event will begin with a team-time trial in the seaside town of Marina de Cudeyo, Cantabria. The track will go nearly straight south for five days, ending on September 11 in Madrid. The race will return to Cantabria on stage 2, where it will face a sequence of five mountain crossings, two of which are category one climbs, including the 3.2km long Campo la Cruz with an 8% grade.

The race will face another steep stage from Camargo to Aguilar de Campo the following day. After a smaller category three climb, the primary barrier will be the Hoces de Bárcena, a 16km climb with an average gradient of 3.4%. Stage 4 will be the longest in the event's history, covering 160 kilometers and including an uphill portion towards the end. Finally, on September 11, an urban circuit in Madrid will end the race, giving sprinters a chance to win a stage.