Vingegaard begins his season in O Gran Camiño 2024

O Gran Camiño2024, the third edition of the tough Galician race that, like last year, will once again feature Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, also the defending champion of the race, as the main protagonist in what will be the beginning of his journey towards a new yellow jersey on the Champs-Élysées. If the weather doesn't interfere, the Danish rider won't have an easy victory given the interesting participation that the race has attracted.

O Gran Camiño 2024 seeks to consolidate

While most eyes will be on the start of the classics season taking place next Saturday, February 24th with the Omloop Het Niewsblad 2024, cycling fans have a date in Galician lands with the celebration of O Gran Camiño 2024, a race that reaches its third edition after an inaugural edition that saw Alejandro Valverde's last triumph and last year's edition, affected by the terrible weather and where an unbeatable Jonas Vingegaard left no chance for other competitors to fight for victory.

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O Gran Camiño 2024 starts again with eyes on the sky due to the arrival of a storm to the Iberian Peninsula. A race that aims to consolidate itself in the early season calendar and this year receives the important economic support from Zara, in charge of designing, producing, and sponsoring the different leader jerseys for each classification.

Where to watch O Gran Camiño 2024

O Gran Camiño 2024 will once again have significant TV coverage with Spanish Television and Galician Television joining the channels with broadcasting rights for the race, in addition to the usual presence of Eurosport as the reference channel for those who don't want to miss any cycling action. The broadcasts will start at 15:30 except for the final stage which will begin at 13:30.

Dates and stages

O Gran Camiño 2024 will take place between February 22 and 25, with four stages starting with an individual time trial of 14.8 kilometers along the coast in the city of A Coruña, with the iconic Tower of Hercules as the starting and finishing point, a symbol of the city.

The rest of the stages, following the trend of the race and the demands of the Galician terrain, offer a good dose of challenging and demanding routes, starting with the second stage where the peloton of O Gran Camiño 2024 will ride from Taboada to Chandada. Just 151 kilometers but with 3,000 meters of accumulated elevation gain and a final circuit with two ascents to the Alto de San Pedro de Líncora, the second one almost to the finish line. A deceptive climb with just 5 kilometers at a little over 6% average gradient but sprinkled with steep ramps and short descents where we will surely see some action among those contenders for the final victory, especially from those who need to make up time after the time trial.

The third stage will run through the province of Ourense, between Xinzo de Lima and Castelo de Ribadavia, perhaps the most manageable stage of O Gran Camiño 2024, if such a term can be applied to a route of 173 km and 2,340 meters of elevation gain spread over 4 climbs. Probably a stage for adventurers looking to successfully complete the day's breakaway.

The final stage will take place in Pontevedra. 162 kilometers and 3,421 meters of accumulated elevation gain between Ponteareas and the uphill finish at the Natural Park of Monte Aloia, which will be climbed twice in an attractive final circuit. It is a 6.5 km climb, plus an extra 500 m to the finish line on the final ascent, with an 8% average gradient but with constant double-digit ramps that will undoubtedly be decisive in crowning the final winner.

Favorites for victory in O Gran Camiño 2024

Being O Gran Camiño 2024 a race of category 2.1, the third level within the UCI scale, the presence of World Tour teams is lower, represented by Visma-Lease a Bike, INEOS Grenadiers, Movistar Team, EF Education-EasyPost, Groupama-FDJ, and Arkéa-B&B Hotels.

Of course, if we have to mention a favorite for the final victory in O Gran Camiño 2024, it can only be the Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard, uncontested winner in last year's edition. He will be supported by Visma-Lease a Bike with solid riders like Cian Uijtdebroeks and Wilco Kelderman.

They will face the British team of INEOS Grenadiers who bring a strong squad to try to win O Gran Camiño 2024. Egan Bernal and Carlos Rodríguez will try to give the Dutch riders a tough challenge. It will also be interesting to see the performance of young Joshua Tarling in the opening time trial.

We must pay attention to what the always combative Richard Carapaz can bring, who will have the support of EF Education-EasyPost with the reliability of Hugh Carthy, the assistance of Neilson Powless, and the experience of Rigoberto Urán.