Santana da Serra - Odeceixe   

One of the most beautiful places from Portugal, and possible from the World, hosts a very interesting cycling race, the Santana da Serra - Odeceixe.

Starting near Almodôvar in the middle of the hot "Alentejo", the race heads south in the direction of the "Monchique" mountain range were each season we expect the fun to start. 20 km of long flat roads are quickly forgotten when we reach this small, but steep hills. On...

Read more

One of the most beautiful places from Portugal, and possible from the World, hosts a very interesting cycling race, the Santana da Serra - Odeceixe.

Starting near Almodôvar in the middle of the hot "Alentejo", the race heads south in the direction of the "Monchique" mountain range were each season we expect the fun to start. 20 km of long flat roads are quickly forgotten when we reach this small, but steep hills. Only when crossing the "Albufeira de Adelouca" lagoon, the riders will have a brief moment to refresh and put the very hot roads behind. "Umbria", "Picota" and "Pomba" climbs won't mean nothing when the riders reach the “Foia” climb. 7,3 km at 6% will be a crucial moment to break the peloton apart in the middle of the race.

Now it's time to fallow the "Rio Seixe" in the direction to the finish in Odeceixe. But it won't be as easy as it looks. The riders will have a bunch of small but steep climbs near the river. The most important of them must be the "São Teotónio" climb with 2 km at 10% with just 30 km to the line. Now it's time to cross more flat roads and reach Odeceixe where we'll have a first crossing of the final circuit including the last climb to the finish. 2km at 7% are hard once, but twice it will be pure pain.

The last circuit is 20 km long and during that circuit the riders will visit "Maria Vinagre" before reaching the seaside and the beautiful beach from Odeceixe. But there's no time for sightseeing since the high winds will difficult even more the approach to the final climb.

Important names like Wit Feaux, Slavomil Dittrich, Tapuwa Mathema, Brooke Diuguid and Paul Crawford won this race before, usually attacking on the first climb to the finish line. Isidro Marinho is the first Portuguese rider to win the race after an amazing sprint to the line against Brandan Peppiatt. Who will win it this time?