The first stage of the Andalucia Bike Race rides from Jaén back to Jaén on a lap of 89 kilometers and around 3,000 meters of altitude. On this fast stage, it is the Spaniard Pedro Romero and his Portuguese team partner Luis Leao Pinto who are in dazzling early form. They win the stage by over a minute ahead of the second-placed Portuguese riders David Serralheiro and Tiago Oliveira. Another two and a half minutes behind them are Alban Lakata (AUT) and Kristian Hynek (CZE), who are riding this six-day stage race in preparation for the Cape Epic.

Almost seven minutes behind, Mathias Flückiger and Nicola Rohrbach reach the finish line. The two Stöckli riders say they are harmonizing well and are very satisfied with their season debut. After all, the Cross-Country World Cup doesn't start until May.
Marc Stutzmann and Matthias Stirnemann also enjoyed a solid start with seventh place.

Milena Landtwing and Esther Süss have made an even more solid start to the season. Both also in the preparation phase, they made it onto the podium straight away. However, they cannot compete for the win, which goes to the Spaniards Anna Villar and Rocio Martin. In second place, Landtwing and Süss lose a good three minutes.

The second stage is clearly shorter with 61 kilometers and 2,300 meters of ascent. However, this does not make it any easier, as the participants have to overcome almost 1,000 meters of altitude in one go after the start in Jaén. A short descent is followed by a few short climbs before the riders are served up another 500 meters of altitude in one go. After that, it's mostly downhill back to the finish in Jaén.

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