The inaugural Tour of Armenia in history kicks off next Thursday. From September 10 to 13, here is the new international event, inserted this season into the UCI Europe Tour calendar as a 2.2 race. The start of the inaugural edition is set from the city of Gavar, with 16 teams from around the world competing in four stages: 568 km overall with over 5000 meters of elevation gain. The race, which will conclude on Sunday, September 13 in the capital Yerevan, is organized by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, Sports Management Center and the Armenian Cycling Federation, with technical consulting and expertise from Rcs Sports and Events DMCC.
Two UCI Pro Tour teams are present, both Italian: Bardiani CSF 7 Saber and Solution Tech Nippo Rali. Among the Continental teams, there will be two development teams, the British Netcompany Ineos Racing Academy and the German Lidl-Trek Future Racing. To these are added the Czech Att Investments, the Portuguese Óbidos Cycling Team, the Kazakh Team Vino–North Qazaqstan Region, the Japanese Team Ukyo and the Polish Voster Team.
Five Italian Continental teams: Biesse-Carrera-Premac, General Store-Essegibi-F.lli Curia, Swatt Club, MG. K Vis Costruzioni e Ambiente, Campana Imballaggi-Morbiato-Trentino. Completing the roster of this first edition are the Ayat Airwerks Racing Team from the United Arab Emirates and the ARM Cycling Club, a local team, demonstrating how cycling is a sport experiencing great growth in the country already for several years and how this race represents an opportunity for further expansion.

In the provisional start list is Swiss rider Alexandre Balmer (Solution Tech Nippo Rali), fresh from the podium (3rd place) in the general classification of the Tour of Istanbul last week, also thanks to second place in the first stage. Also at the start is Daniil Pronskiy, captain of Team Vino – North Qazaqstan Region, who won the penultimate stage of the Turkish race last Saturday in Fatih. In the Bardiani camp, they are counting heavily on climber Luca Covili, while Ukyo fields both Simone Raccani with general classification ambitions and Federico Iacomoni, protagonist in the Italian national team at the recent Mediterranean Games where he won bronze in the road race. The Att Investments will be led by experienced Polish rider Norbert Banaszek, while Biesse-Carrera-Premac relies on Leonardo Vesco, second at the Gp di Capodarco last month.

Polish rider Jakub Kaczmarek is the most representative rider of the Voster Team, while in the ranks of Óbidos Cycling Team stands out the name of Spanish rider Eduardo Pérez-Landaluce. Tommaso Alunni leads the MG. K Vis Costruzioni e Ambiente, Francesco Carollo the Swatt Club and Danish rider Kevin Biehl the General Store-Essegibi-F.lli Curia. For the road stages, pay attention to the sprinter of Campana Imballaggi-Morbiato-Trentino Lorenzo De Longhi: Cofidis stagiaire, capable of winning last week in Sommacampagna.

Two "excellent relatives" are Martin Pedersen (Lidl-Trek Future Racing), younger brother of Mads, and Davide Frigo, class of 2007 who this year races with Netcompany Ineos Racing Academy seeking to follow in Marco's footsteps. For the local team the captain will be Russian Kiril Miller (2nd in time trial at the national championships last summer), while in the Ayat Airwerks Racing Team the New Zealander Michael Vink is making his mark.

An exceptional ambassador of the inaugural edition of the Tour of Armenia will be the Olympic road race champion from Beijing 2008, Samuel Sanchez. The Spanish champion, capable of reaching the podium at the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, will attend the two concluding stages of the race that aims to become a permanent fixture on the calendar in the years to come.

THE TEAMS

UCI PRO TEAMS:
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER (Italy)
SOLUTION TECH NIPPO RALI (Italy)

UCI CONTINENTAL TEAMS
ATT INVESTMENTS (Czech Republic)
BIESSE-CARRERA-PREMAC (Italy)
CAMPANA IMBALLAGGI-MORBIATO-TRENTINO (Italy)
GENERAL STORE-ESSEGIBI F.LLI CURIA (Italy)
INEOS GRENADIERS RACING ACADEMY (Great Britain)
LIDL-TREK FUTURE RACING (Germany)
MG.K VIS COSTRUZIONI E AMBIENTE (Italy)
OBIDOS CYCLING TEAM (Portugal)
SWATT CLUB (Italy)
TEAM UKYO (Japan)
TEAM VINO-NORTH QAZAQSTAN REGION (Kazakhstan)
VOSTER TEAM (Poland)

CYCLING TEAM CLUBS
ARM CYCLING CLUB (Armenia)
AYAT AIRWERKS RACING TEAM (UAE)

THE ROUTE

1st Stage: Gavar-Mets Masrik (135 km, 450 meters of elevation gain)
The inaugural stage, scheduled for Thursday, September 10, will start from Gavar, capital of the Gegharkunik region, to Mets Masrik: 135 km with 450 meters of elevation gain that should favor the fast wheels.

The intermediate sprint is located at Shorzha, after 77.6 km of racing. Although it is a stage without significant altitude challenges, it will be entirely at altitude, as it starts at 1979 meters above sea level in Gavar and arrives in the small municipality of Mets Masrik (1940 meters altitude).

The route will skirt the splendid Lake Sevan, the largest in the country and one of the most vast bodies of water at altitude in the world: it is also called the "sea of Armenia" because it is perfect for swimming and navigation, as well as a highly sought-after destination for tourists and locals.

2nd Stage: Kirants-Stepanavan (177 km, 2400 meters of elevation gain)
There is plenty of terrain for attackers, instead, in the second stage from Kirants to Stepanavan, with 2400 meters of elevation gain over the 177 km planned. It starts from the tiny village in the Tavush region, famous for its 7th-century Monastery, and arrives in the mountain town famous for its splendid basalt plateau and its unique Dendropark in the entire South Caucasus, for its forest transformed into a living botanical garden.

The intermediate sprint will be located after 61.4 km, while the first of the mountain prizes is the Lermontov (1869 meters altitude) after 81.5 km. The two subsequent climbs will be Odzun (at km 141) and Mghard (km 153.5): at that point, 23.5 km will remain to the finish line. Very technical finale with two hairpin turns in the center of Stepanavan 1.5 km from the finish line.

3rd Stage: Martuni-Dilijan (Lake Parz) (162 km, 1700 meters of elevation gain)
Also very suggestive is the third day of racing, with the start from Martuni, ancient capital of the Gegharkunik region and the uphill finish located in Dilijan for another 162 km with 1700 meters of elevation gain. On paper, this could be the queen stage of the inaugural Tour of Armenia. The route will skirt the western shore of Lake Sevan arriving at Lake Parz, a small mountain lake located a few kilometers from the center of Dilijan.
The intermediate sprint is scheduled at km 99.2, while at km 131.3 the first climb of Semyonovka will end and 30.7 km will remain to the finish. From there, a very long descent that will lead to the start of the final climb: 4.6 km with an average gradient of 7% and peaks of 12% that could deliver the final shock to the general classification.

4th Stage: Yerevan-Yerevan (94 km, 750 meters of elevation gain)
Sunday, September 13, the grand finale, which will crown the first winner of the Tour of Armenia. Riders will face a city circuit (10 laps of 9.4 km) in the capital of Yerevan, with the finish expected after 94 km. Wide and fast curves could lead to a group sprint.

The cathedral dedicated to Saint Gregory the Illuminator, the Vernissage (antique and craft market), the Blue Mosque and Republic Square are just some of the gems that can be admired in Armenia's largest city, along with the many gastronomic delicacies that can be tasted in the many venues in the center.

Official website: https://tour-of-armenia.com/