The Mayor José Miguel Luengo and the director of the Vuelta Ciclista a la Región de Murcia, Francisco Guzmán, have signed today an agreement confirming that the 43rd edition of the Vuelta Ciclista Región de Murcia Costa Cálida Gran Premio Primafrío y Trofeo Alfonso Guzmán, will start from San Javier on Saturday 11th February 2023. The start is scheduled between 11am and 12pm, from the Almansa Park, which will be open for the first time on these days, after a complete refurbishment, said the Mayor, José Miguel Luengo, who reiterated «the honour it is for San Javier to host, once again, the Tour of the Region of Murcia».
The signing and announcement of the start of the Vuelta from San Javier was held in the town hall with the presence of the councillor for Sports, Sergio Martínez, the president of the Cycling Federation of the Region of Murcia, Miguel Fernández and Adrián Valverde, representing Primafrío, the main sponsor of the Vuelta. In the absence of specifying the route, which is not expected to be easy, and the finish line, which will not be in the city of Murcia due to construction work, said Guzmán, the Vuelta will have «the best teams in the world», according to its director, who said that for the moment 21 of the 35 teams that have applied to participate in this edition have been selected.
Adirán Valverde said that the 43rd Vuelta Ciclista a la Región de Murcia will be «the most sustainable in history», according to Primafrío’s commitment to an event that was a pioneer in green patrols to collect rubbish, said Guzmán, who also emphasised that the Vuelta a Murcia will be «the most sustainable of all the Vueltas», through a series of initiatives that will be announced soon. In terms of presence at the Vuelta, Francisco Guzmán extended an invitation to Alejandro Valverde. «He has the doors open to say goodbye in the Vuelta», assured the director of the cycling event, in relation to the announced farewell of the cyclist from Murcia and sure that Valverde «will be ready to participate in February in the Vuelta», and say goodbye to his career in his homeland.
Francisco Guzmán has confirmed the presence of as many riders as possible from Murcia in different teams, such as Luis León Sánchez. Other names include Antonio Jesús Soto, José María García and José Luis Faura. The director of the Vuelta, Francisco Guzmán, expressed his satisfaction at returning to San Javier, «whose support in the lowest moments of the Vuelta managed to relaunch it». Guzman recalled that the Vuelta Ciclista a la Región de Murcia, was last year the event, including non-sporting events, with the greatest media coverage and said that the next edition will have the deployment of the 7 Region of Murcia, Eurosport for international broadcasting, and TVE at the national level.
The Mayor of San Javier, José Miguel Luengo celebrated the efforts of the Vuelta and Primafrío, as sponsor, to continue to improve in terms of sustainability and encouraged local residents and fans to come and see the riders up close and enjoy the atmosphere that will be generated beforehand in the start area.