Portugal Tour Starts Today, Targets Climbers

The country’s most important cycling race will consist of ten stages – a total of 1,540.1 kilometers, five of which are mountainous and end high, making it suitable for mountain bikers. In fact, this year’s event is considered one of the toughest ever, with 32 mountain prizes: one in the special category, five in the first category, four in the second, 14 in the third and eight in the fourth.

The winner of the 2023 edition will be present and will return to the Portuguese competition to defend the title. However, Colin Stussy (Vorarlberg) will have strong competition from Uruguayan Mauricio Moreira (Sabgal-Anicolor). The Spanish teams are also showing good blocks and will have their say on the road. The race will end in Viseu on August 4 with an individual time trial over a distance of 26.7 km.

PORTUGUESE CANDIDATES
António Carvalho (ABTF-Feirense), who has finished second three times and third twice, is one of the Portuguese candidates to win the overall title, as is Henrique Casimiro (Efapel), who is part of a strong team led by José Azevedo.

SPANISH TEAMS
Five Spanish teams are participating in the competition, four of which represent the second international level: Caja Rural, Euskaltel-Euskadi, Kern Pharma and Burgos-BH.

PLATOON OF 119 BICYCLES
There are 119 cyclists registered from 17 teams participating in the race. Nine are Portuguese, five are Spanish, one is Austrian, one is Mexican and one is North American.