Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco (ESP) - 07-12.04.2008

The six-day Pais Vasco stage race fits tightly between other prestigious one-day races in the UCI ProTour calendar, but it is always a high quality race because of the passion and enthusiasm of the Basque cycling fans and because of the big name riders who target the race before heading to Belgium for the Ardennes classics.

In 2007, Spain’s Juan Jose Cobo of the Saunier Duval team was the revelation of the race. Cobo won two stages and his team mates dominated the action on the hilly stages before he sealed overall victory in the final time trial. The race was Cobo’s brief moment of success in 2007 but proved he has stage racing ability.

The 2008 route of the Vuelta Pais Vasco will again cover the coastal area near San Sebastian and Bilbao but also head into the longer hills in the heartland of the Basque Country. The six days of racing always includes a short time trial to test riders’ all-round ability and show who really is the best stage racer of the moment.

Juan Jose Cobo will wear number one in the 2008 Vuelta Pais Vasco as previous winner, while former stage winners Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) and Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel) are again expected to be big favourites. 2007 UCI ProTour winner Cadel Evans is likely to target the event, as is rising Italian star Damiano Cunego.elta Ciclista al País Vasco (ESP) - 07-12.04.2008