The professional exciter David López repeats in this edition of the most popular cycling event in the south of Gran Canaria, the EPIC Gran Canaria. After his debut a few years ago, López returns to a test that makes him “relive his passion for cycling, in a place that combines challenge and enjoyment.”
Integrated into the UCI and Gran Fondo World Tour calendar, the EPIC Gran Canaria continues to add stars for its 2025 event on 8 and 9 February, confirming the cyclist from Baracaldo. López has a brilliant track record, with stage victories in the Vuelta a España and Vuelta a Alemania and a wealth of experience in the professional peloton.
“The EPIC Gran Canaria is a unique event, not only because of the level of challenge, but also because of the spectacular surroundings of the island,” said the former Sky and Movistar Team rider, who will show off his strategic ability in long-distance races in the midlands of Gran Canaria. “Mental preparation is crucial. In events like the EPIC, where there are long and demanding stages, maintaining a positive mindset and being prepared for difficult moments makes all the difference.”
After its first edition years ago, he confesses that he has not forgotten this event, which he attends “without the pressure of competition, making a maximum effort and motivated”, in order to be able to “enjoy the environment and the cycling community”. The EPIC, he said, “is not just a race, it is an incredible experience”.
This weekend, Gran Canaria will be filled with the cycling elite that marked an era, with two days of sport and challenging routes. “My expectation is to give my best and enjoy myself to the fullest. The EPIC Gran Canaria is a race that challenges you and rewards you at the same time.”
David López, known worldwide for pulling the entire Sky team with his leader on his wheel, knows the importance of knowing the route well, which “is fundamental”. This year “I have studied the profiles and I am focusing on working on the key sections, especially the time trials”.
The eighth edition of EPIC Gran Canaria has managed to fill its capacity in record time, closing registrations in just 48 hours after filling its 500 places, which include professionals and amateurs from twenty countries around the world.
The EPIC Gran Canaria RIU Hotels & Resorts is divided into two iconic stages, which take in several of the island's most popular cycling routes. The first stage, 115 kilometres long and with two timed sections, starts at Mirador de las Dunas de Maspalomas at the RIU Palace Maspalomas, before heading for a tough climb through Arteara, Fataga, Tirajana and El Pajar to Pasito Blanco.
The first timed section of this stage runs from Aqualand to Ayagaures, with the finish line at the top of Pedro González in a 12,3 km time trial up to 470 metres of altitude. This climb aims to test the five hundred cyclists in a fight against the clock and an average gradient of 4,4%.
The second of the time trials will be the icing on the cake of the first day of the race, with the favourite: the climb to Ayacata. This challenging section is 45 kilometres long and 1.304 m high, with an average gradient of 4,7%, to enjoy its route through El Pajar, Cercados de Espino, Soria, Barranquillo Andrés, the Las Niñas dam and, finally, the top of Ayacata.
Second stage, the definitive one
The EPIC Gran Canaria RIU Hotels & Resorts will close a weekend of sport with a fast and dynamic show, a head-to-head race in a single timed section. With a 75-kilometre course, the 22-kilometre time trial will decide the podium times.
Starting from the RIU Palace Maspalomas hotel, the last leg of the competition goes from Mirador to Fataga and Tirajana, at an altitude of 925 metres, with a gradient of 810 metres and an average gradient of 4%. It is not just the decisive competition, as this stage shows the best version of this sporting paradise for two wheels with a descent through Santa Lucía, La Era, Vecindario, Doctoral and Bahía Feliz along the GC-65 and GC-500 available to the participants. A drumming party, a reunion, a collective lunch, an expo and the final trophy presentation will be waiting for them on their return, to end on a high note, along with a great show and live music.
