On the 16th of February the international peloton arrives in Portugal. This will be the day of the Figueira Champions Classic, one of the most recent additions to the UCI calendar which has seen a notable winner in Remco Evenepoel back in 2024. We preview the race ahead.
The race will be just over 190 kilometers long, with a mostly flat start and a hilly circuit finale - one that features three laps of a hilly circuit where there should be plenty fireworks.
Once the first half of the route has been covered, we enter Figueira da Foz once again where we find two main climbs: Rua Parque Florestal (2.3Km; 7.8%; 20Km to go) and after some rolling terrain, the very short but sharp 'Enforca Cães' (800 meters; 7%; 6.1Km to go). It's a very fast downhill then into the final few kilometers where it's still possible, but hard to chase a lone attacker.
Prediction Tour of Oman 2025 stage 3:
*** António Morgado, Mathias Vacek, Julian Alaphilippe
** João Almeida, Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda, Dylan Teuns
* Paul Magnier, Ilan van Wilder, Jan Christen, Quinten Hermans, Filippo Ganna, Neilson Powless, Rui Costa, Romain Bardet, Ruben Guerreiro, Biniam Girmay, Urko Berrade
Pick: António Morgado
How: I believe UAE will attack the final circuit from early on, Almeida specifically on the big climb... Will be a tactical finale and on terrain like this Morgado can win solo with the support of the home crowd.
Original: Rúben Silva
3, 2, 1... REMCO LAUNCHES! 🚀#FigueiraChampionsClassicpic.twitter.com/Hf3IjIleVx
— Portuguese Cycling Magazine (@PCMPTMag) February 10, 2024