Dan Martin leads Etixx at Vuelta al Pais Vasco

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Dan Martin leads Etixx Quickstep in the  Vuelta al Pais Vasco which starts on April 4th

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Dan Martin leads Etixx at Vuelta al Pais Vasco

The riders who line up for the 56th edition of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco will have no time for respite given that the six-day event will be a continuous up and down affair on short and punchy hills that will ruthlessly hit double-digit gradients.

The race will start on Monday, April 4th, with a stage that includes eight categorized climbs, and one day later will see the first fight between the GC contenders on the uphill finish of Garrastatxu (2.7 km, 11.6% average gradient). Two punchy stages will follow next, before the peloton will scale the traditional Santuario de Arrate (5.4 km, 8.2%), where new differences will be made. As was the case in its recent history, Pais Vasco will conclude with a hilly and arduous individual time trial, one final test for the ones who want to get their hands on the yellow jersey and the txapela that reward the overall winner.

For Daniel Martin, this will be the third Spanish appointment of the season, following Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and Volta a Catalunya, in which he won a stage apiece. The 29-year-old returns to Vuelta al Pais Vasco for the first time in four years and he’s determined to continue on the same road since he’s joined the team and notch another strong result before kicking his Ardennes campaign, especially as he will be supported by a well-rounded and motivated team.

“Pais Vasco sticks to its roots, which means many tough climbs and many <walls> along the way, but it will all come down to the individual time trial on Saturday. We won’t see too many bunch sprints, which will be to Dan Martin’s liking, as he can sprint from a reduced group. He will lead the team and go for a good GC result, which he can get, considering his form and the fact he will rely on a strong team, which includes Gianluca Brambilla and Carlos Verona, two riders who showed good form thus far this season”, said sport director Brian Holm of Etixx – Quick-Step’s ambitions for the Basque race.

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04.04–09.04 Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco (ESP) 2.UWT

Riders

Gianluca Brambilla (ITA)
Rodrigo Contreras Pinzon (COL)
Laurens De Plus (BEL)
Daniel Martin (IRL)
Pieter Serry (BEL)
Martin Velits (SVK)
Julien Vermote (BEL)
Carlos Verona (ESP)

Sports Director Brian Holm (DEN)
Jan Schaffrath (GER)

Website http://www.klasikoa.net

Stages
04.04.16 Stage 1 Etxebarria – Markina-Xemein 144.0 km
05.04.16 Stage 2 Markina-Xemein – Amurrio-Baranbio 174.2 km
06.04.16 Stage 3 Vitoria-Gasteiz – Lesaka 193.5 km
07.04.16 Stage 4 Lesaka – Orio 165.0 km
08.04.16 Stage 5 Orio – Eibar Arrate 159.0 km
09.04.16 Stage 6 Eibar – Eibar 16.5 km (ITT)

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