La 10 Picos will bring together more than 800 cyclists in the Sierra de Espadán
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The fourth edition of the Desafío 10 Picos Sierra de Espadán will be held this Saturday, April 20, starting and finishing in the town of Onda. The Olympic champion in Beijing 2008, Samuel Sanchez, will be the ambassador of a march organized by the cyclist Angel Casero and the VCV – Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana team.
Onda. April 18, 2024. The fourth edition of the Desafío 10 Picos Sierra de Espadán will bring together this Saturday, April 20, more than 800 cyclists in the province of Castellón. This was announced this Friday by the exciclist Ángel Casero, general director of the VCV – Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and responsible for this cyclosportive march born in 2021 and which has already established itself as one of the most prominent in the national calendar. ‘La 10 Picos’ 2024 has been presented this Friday at the facilities of Decathlon Onda. An act that has counted with the participation of the Olympic champion in Beijing 2008, Samuel Sanchez, who serves this year as ambassador of the march. Also present at the official presentation were Iván Sánchez, Castellón Sports Deputy; José Vicente Iserte, Onda Sports Councilman; Paco Pastor, Onda Natural Landscape Councilman; Kike Gutiérrez, president of the FCCV; and Civil Guard Lieutenant Javier Medina, Castellón traffic district chief.
“I would like to thank Samuel Sánchez for the effort he has made to be with us. I would like to thank also the Deputy Ivan Sanchez, who has found a gap between many acts to accompany us. And the City Council of Onda, with the presence of the councilors José Vicente Iserte and Paco Pastor. We are very proud because we have increased by 20% the number of participants, with runners coming from all over Spain and Europe. Tomorrow, Saturday, more than 800 runners will start from Onda, something that makes us very proud”, said Ángel Casero during the presentation ceremony.
Samuel Sánchez thanked Ángel Casero for the invitation. “The truth is that I feel envious of how public institutions and private sponsors support cycling and cyclotourism here. The Sierra de Espadán is a wonderful place to do sport, but it is something you can only do with a bicycle. I come with some nerves, to be honest, because it is a tough terrain where you need good physical condition. I’m proud to be here. I have a great connection with the Comunitat Valenciana, with the Cabedo brothers and Onda. Pedaling with this climate and this sun, for me who am from the north, is a real luxury. I’m looking forward to it and thank you for thinking of me to accompany you”, concluded the 2008 Olympic champion.
Then, the Deputy of Sports of Castellón, Iván Sánchez, thanked “all those who make it possible for this type of events to be held in Castellón”. “In our province we have a good number of cyclists, organizers, and that makes it easier for the administration. It is common sense to bet on cycling in Castellón. ‘La 10 Picos’ is the perfect example of what we want for Castellón in terms of sports tourism. It has more than 800 participants, runs through more than a dozen municipalities in the province and crosses a wonderful natural setting such as the Sierra de Espadán. We feel obliged to support an event like this. The Castellón Escenario Deportivo brand seeks precisely this, to highlight perhaps more unknown municipalities, and ‘La 10 Picos’ does it perfectly. I am happy to see how such a test is settled and continues to grow in its fourth edition, “said the deputy.
Finally, the councilman of Sustainable City of Onda, Paco Pastor, thanked “the Civil Guard for their great work so that tests like this can be organized”. “Enjoying a route like this, with closed traffic and protected by the Civil Guard, is a luxury and a great job on their part that is often not seen. We will be lucky to have two professional cyclists from Castellón as Óscar Cabedo and Óscar Pelegrí, so we can’t wait to see how the race develops. The Sierra de Espadán is a paradise. We are the second most mountainous province in Spain and people will really enjoy the route. We can only be grateful for the effort of all parties to make something like this possible. I encourage all those who have not participated to do so in the future,” concluded the councilman.
The route of ‘La 10 Picos’ runs almost entirely through the Natural Park of the Sierra de Espadán. A protected natural area of 31,180 hectares that separates the basins of the rivers Palancia to the south and Mijares to the north, between the regions of Alto Palancia, Alto Mijares and Plana Baja. A true natural jewel that is also a paradise for cycling tourism. Thanks to ‘La 10 Picos’, and the support and promotion by the Provincial Council of Castellón and the City Council of Onda, more and more fans of this sport are discovering the area and choosing it as a destination for their next vacation. Cyclotourists from all over Spain, but also from Central European countries or the United Kingdom, will ride this Saturday, April 20, through some of the most emblematic points of an increasingly less unknown Sierra de Espadán.
For this fourth edition, ‘La 10 Picos’ has designed a new route, without leaving the Sierra de Espadán. A route of 134.7 kilometers, crossing the towns of Artesa, Tales, Veo, Alcudia de Veo, Aín, Chóvar, Sonejas, Azuébar, Almedíjar, Algimia de Monacid, Matet, Villamalur, Torralba del Pinar and Sueras. This route has 10 mountain passes, Alcúdia de Veo, Eslida, Almedíjar, La Nevera, Matet, Collado Cuatro Caminos, Alto de Villamalur, Alto del Pinar, Alto de Pavías and Collado de Ayódar; for a total of 3,125 meters of positive vertical drop. A real challenge surrounded by the wonderful landscapes of the Sierra de Espadán.
The average profile of the ‘La 10 Picos’ participant is a male cyclist between 40 and 50 years of age. In addition, the female presence has been increasing over the editions. In 2023 there were 20 (almost 5%) women cyclists who overcame the challenge, while for 2024 that figure has grown to over thirty. Finally, professional athletes and active cyclists also choose ‘La 10 Picos’ to enjoy the Sierra de Espadán. This year, the cyclists Óscar Cabedo and Óscar Pelegrí, together with the ex-football player Paco Camarasa, are part of the ’10 Piqueros’ peloton.