The 85th Tour of Portugal will take place between July 24 and August 4, “the best possible date” in the year of the Olympic Games, the president of the Portuguese Cycling Federation (FPC) acknowledged to Lusa.
“We had to propose two dates, it was this week and the other [de 31 de julho], but it has a lot to do with the sporting context, with the Olympic Games. We had to anticipate. And also with the arrival of the Tour of Spain, which also comes to Portugal a week earlier. All these little factors led us to this date,” explains Delmino Pereira.
Since the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are scheduled between July 26 and August 11 and the Tour of Spain starts on August 17, with three stages on Portuguese territory, “it was agreed with the organization” of the Tour of Portugal to change the dates of July 24 to August 4 as the first option, while the second is from July 31 to August 11, the FPC president revealed.
“It is the best possible date, in terms of managing all the interests that are being evaluated. There is no ideal date, this is the possible date,” he defended.
For Delmino Pereira, the year of the Olympic Games inevitably represents “an additional problem” in determining the dates of the ‘queen’ race of national cycling, which has even “come under more pressure in the prospect of the football championships”.
“If we have the Olympic Games, the situation becomes more complicated, especially if they take place in Europe, because they coincide with the times of major events. To have the participation of Portuguese in any sport coincide with the Tour of Portugal, with moments in the At the same time it is something that is not desirable”he noticed.
However, the head of the FPC believes that moving the race forward by a week will in no way affect the preparation of the national teams for what is the main objective of the season.
“I think the Portuguese teams are adapting well to these small differences. Eight days forward, eight days back. The most important thing is that the Tour continues to grow in the sporting quality of the teams present and that it moves towards progressive international prestige and that our teams are also prepared to give a good response, because that is what the Portuguese want and desire,” he concludes .
In addition to the Volta a Portugal, the International Cycling Union has also confirmed the dates of other international races to be held on Portuguese territory: the Clássica Figueira Champions opens the calendar, on February 10, with the Volta ao Algarve, also in the ProSeries category, starting four days later and ends on February 18.
This will be followed by the Clássica da Arrábida (March 17), the Volta ao Alentejo (March 20 to 24), the Beiras and Serra da Estrela International Grand Prix (May 2 to 5), before the Joaquim Agostinho Trophy (July 11 to 14). ), last preparatory test for candidates for victory in the Tour of Portugal.
Source: DN
