When cycling was filmed in black and white, the Getxo Circuit brought together great figures from the international squad. Then, globalization cornered the Biscayan test, which, paradoxically, is reborn as a side effect of the coronavirus pandemic. Given the suspension of much of the international calendar, many figures will be next August 2 at the Getxo Circuit, which will once again have an illustrious list: Mikel Landa, Cavendish, Pello Bilbao, Gaviria, Kristoff, Pedersen (current world champion), Campenaerts and, probably, Alejandro Valverde.
The organization is awaiting the response from Ineos, the team from Bernal, Froome, Thomas, Carapaz and the Biscayan Jonathan Castroviejo, who is from Getxo and who is very committed to his training running the test. Landa has also been involved in promoting the Circuit. The Alava from Bahrain, who is president of the Euskadi Foundation, has decided to be in Getxo after participating in the Tour of Burgos to compete in front of his fans. Basque runners want to lend a hand to sustain the few races that survive on their land.
The classic will bring together twenty teams, five of them from the UCI World Tour (Movistar, Bahrain, NTT Pro Cycling, UAE and Trek), plus Euskaltel-Euskadi, Caja Rural, Burgos, Kern-Pharma and Kometa. Total, 140 cyclists will fight for victory in a circuit that will go seven laps to complete 177 kilometers.
Colgate Bridge and the Pike Wall
There are new features in this edition that celebrates the 75th anniversary. The exit of the Getxo-Memorial Hermanos Otxoa Circuit will take place from the Hanging Bridge. Part of the platoon will board the platform in Portugalete and disembark in Las Arenas. From there, everyone and in neutral gear will walk along the Paseo del Muelle Churruca, one of the best postcards in Getxo.
The race, organized by the Punta Galea Cycling Society and with the collaboration of EL CORREO, will have as maximum difficulty the climb on the last lap of the Pike wall, a slope that goes from Sondika to Artxanda in two kilometers and that reaches ramps of 20%. The goal is maintained in the chain of ramps that from the Ereaga beach unite the slopes of Txomintxu and Arkotxa.
The Getxo Circuit was born in 1924, a key year in Biscayan cycling. He also experienced the first edition of the Tour of the Basque Country and the arrival to this sport of Athletic with its cycling section. That initial Circuit was barely 28 kilometers long and was followed by a crowd on the slope of Txomintxu, which is still today one of the claims of the race. Baracaldés Domingo Rodríguez beat Segundo Barruetabeña. On August 2, Getxo will attend another chapter of its cycling history.
Birthday for a career that endures
In the Getxo Circuit the stars gathered, as reflected in the poster for this edition in which Anquetil is seen in Arriluze. This test has been won by Ezquerra, Loroño, Barrutia, Marino, Etxabe and Van der Poel.
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