- The race will once again start on the shores of the Mar Menor in its 43rd edition.
- The race will be held on 11th February.
- The race can be followed once again this year on Eurosport and 7TV Región de Murcia.
This Wednesday, 7th October 2022, the signing ceremony has been held by which San Javier will be the starting point of the Vuelta Ciclista a la Región de Murcia - Costa Cálida - Gran Premio Primafrio. The coastal town will return the protagonist role in the Murcian round to the Mar Menor, from where the 2020 and 2021 rounds started.
The event was attended by the mayor of San Javier, José Miguel Luengo, the sports councillor Sergio Martínez, the president of the Cycling Federation of the Region of Murcia, Miguel Fernández, Adrián Valverde on behalf of Primafrio, and the director of the Vuelta, Paco Guzmán.
Luengo was delighted to welcome back the race. "For us it was an honour to help the Vuelta when it needed it most. This year we are in a different context, but equally delighted".
"I would like to appeal to all the residents of San Javier, and especially to cycling lovers, to come to the Almansa Park on 11 February, where the race will start. There will be a great atmosphere and there will be activities before the start".
The race has also welcomed Primafrio, the new main sponsor of the race. As it was the intention when the Race started, the objective continues to be to turn the cycling event into the most sustainable in Spain. To this end, the line that has been followed since 2020 will be continued, and new measures will be added as they are announced.
Paco Guzmán has confirmed the participation of Luis León Sánchez, who returns to the race after two years. The Muleño won two editions, and a stage in 2020, making him and Valverde the only cyclists to have won the stage as a one-day and multi-day race. Alongside him will be the 2021 winner, Antonio Jesús Soto, and José María García and José Luis Faura, who jumps to professionalism after a great season as U-23.
He has also confirmed that the Race will once again be broadcast live on Eurosport and 7TV Región de Murcia. In this way, the race will once again be the event with the greatest mediacoverage in the region.
San Javier hosted for the first time the Vuelta Ciclista a la Región de Murcia as a starting or finishing point in 1989. The second part of the first stage started from the town on the Mar Menor: a team time trial which was won by the PDM team. It was repeated a day later, as the end of the second stage. Antonio Esparza was the winner.
In 2002 it hosted the finish of the second stage, which was won by Fabio Sacchi. In 2008 began the last stage of that edition, which Koldo Fernández won and which corroborated the third final victory of Alejandro Valverde.
Its last stage finish was in 2019, when Pello Bilbao won in a lap dominated by Astana. In 2020 and 2021 it was the stage finish of two editions that started in Los Alcázares.
