Of course, the four days of the Afxentia stage race will primarily play a role for the cross-country specialists as they prepare for the first highlight of the season, the World Cup opener on March 10 in South Africa. But because the date is only two weeks away, you can expect the world-class athletes to already be close to top form.

Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized Racing) won the Afxentia 2017 for the third time in his career. The 2012 Olympic champion completed a training session on Sunday in frosty temperatures in his native Czech Republic and was already looking forward to the sun of Cyprus.

"I had a good winter, similar to last year. Now there are three more weeks of intensive training on the program," said Kulhavy. He wants to use the time in Cyprus and the Afxentia for this. "My last two tests show better values than last year, but there is always room for improvement in the area of highest intensity, which is most important for cross-country races," explains the Rio 2016 silver medal winner with optimism.

On paper, Thomas Litscher (jb Brunex Felt) is certainly his biggest rival. The World Championship bronze medallist was only 17th in 2017, but the Swiss rider was at a different stage back then. He was repeatedly plagued by back problems. It was only in the second half of the season that he worked his way back to the condition that ultimately brought him the bronze medal at the World Championships in Australia.

Kulhavy ahead of Litscher - that was the order in last year's prologue. Jan Skarnitzl (Sram Mitas Trek) is one rider who has always been among the front runners in Cyprus. The Czech was third last year, also in the time trial on the first day. Britain's Grant Ferguson (CST Sandd American Eagle) is likely to be a serious contender, as is Karl Markt (Möbel Märki, Aut).

Women: Plenty of candidates for victory

Yana Belomoina (CST Sandd American Eagle) is certainly the favorite in the women's race. She has already been acclimatizing to the island for five weeks and as the world number one and overall World Cup winner, she will be the benchmark for the competition. "I'm always optimistic," says Belomoina with a laugh. Last year, she had her inrun problems and after seventh place at the Afxentia, nobody would have expected the Ukrainian to be the overall World Cup winner at the end of the year.

Who could endanger her? Certainly Annika Langvad, who already won the Afxentia in 2015. The Specialized rider has repeatedly impressed in Cyprus. As the reigning marathon world champion and 2016 cross-country world champion, she is always one of the favorites anyway. "I haven't been to the classic season opener for two years. This year, no studies are keeping me at home. I'm looking forward to my team," Langvad posted on Instagram.

Many more top female athletes

Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa (Merida) is keeping a low profile. "I'm not going to push myself too hard this year. It's more about getting into competition mode and getting a good feeling on the bike," says Dahle-Flesjaa, who won the final cross-country race in 2017.

Adelheid Morath (jb Brunex Felt) was not at the start last year, but in 2016 she was third overall when Dahle-Flesjaa won. "I'm looking forward to Cyprus and think that my training has worked so far this winter," says Morath.

Hungarian Barbara Benko, now in the service of Ghost Factory Racing, her team colleague, U23 world champion Sina Frei from Switzerland, Lisi Osl (jb Brunex Felt) and of course defending champion Githa Michiels from Belgium are just some of the other top athletes who will make the race very interesting. Just like Olympic road champion Anna van der Breggen, whose debut will be an exciting one.

Changes for stage two and three

The 23rd edition of the Afxentia will once again begin with the downhill prologue from Lefkara to Skarinou, over 14.5 kilometers with a negative elevation gain of 600 meters. However, there is also a section where you have to pedal, resulting in a total of 750 vertical meters downhill.

The second stage, which starts and finishes in Lefkara, returns to the single trail of 2016 and adds an additional loop, resulting in the same distance as last year. 52.2 kilometers with 2154 meters of elevation gain are recorded at the end. On the third day, it is the final stage that has undergone a change.An asphalt passage has been removed, the finish is on a parallel road to the previous finish. The stage is three kilometers shorter, now 66.2 kilometers long and requires 1993 meters of climbing.
Traditionally, the final day is a challenging 5.9-kilometre cross-country route with 217 meters of climbing per lap, which the amateur bikers of the Cyprus Sunshine Challenge are spared. Instead, they can enjoy the island.

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