The UCI ranking TOP10 will compete in the 12th edition of the Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN

Fifteen of the world's top twenty cyclists will be on the starting line in Jaén on February 21.

The current World and European Champion, three former World Champions and five XCM National Champions. Just with this information, people can already realize what a prestigious line-up the Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN will have for its twelfth edition.

Names such as Andreas Seewald, Leonardo Páez, Tiago Ferreira, Alban Lakata, Fabien Rabensteiner, Wout Alleman, Martin Stosek, Kristian Hynek, Daniel Geismayr, Hans Becking, José Dias, Johnny Cattaneo or Ole Hem will be some of the main characters of this edition.

Between 21st and 26th February, Jaén, Villafranca de Córdoba, Andújar and Córdoba will host the best cyclists on the international scene. So, the organizers, led by MTB legend José Antonio Hermida and Antonio Ortiz, have prepared a spectacular route of 358 kilometers and 11,156 meters of altitude.

"I was very impressed with last year's event. The organization was great and the trails were great. Consistency is the key in stage races. I remember last year there were a lot of crashes and mechanical problems, so I would say it will be wide open until the end of the last stage," says XCM World Champion Andreas Seewald.

Another World Champion, the Colombian Leonardo Paez, who is making his debut in this race, is excited about it: "I'm very happy to have the opportunity to compete in a race like this. It's a very famous race, so I'm very excited. I have been told that it is quite demanding and that it requires a good physical preparation. I will have to be constant, taking good care of my physical condition and my bike".

The six days of competition will also be disputed as far as the crown is concerned, as Team Bulls will be defending their title. "In the first three stages it is important to be close to the front of the race, as the time trial on the fourth stage can define the overall classification. After that it will be difficult to make a big step in the general classification if there are no crashes or technical problems," confesses Simon Schneller.

The twelfth edition will also have room for national teams, such as the newly created SCOTT Cala Bandida, led by Sergio Mantecón, paired with José Mari Sánchez and Francesc Guerra with the Spanish XCM Champion Marcos García. Another home team will be the BUFF Megamo Team, with Hans Becking and José Dias paired up as they did last season, with Enrique Morcillo and Peter Pruus completing the line-up.

With registrations now closed, the twelfth edition of the Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN will have 480 participants of which 54% of the total are Spanish, while the remaining 46% correspond to cyclists from up to 27 different nationalities.

Countries such as: Germany, Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Cyprus, Spain, Estonia, France, Holland, Iceland, England, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Czech Republic, South Africa, Switzerland, Honduras, Russia, Sweden, USA, El Salvador and Ukraine will be represented in this event. Up to 900 people have been accredited for the six days of competition.

Once again this year, the best cyclists in the world will enjoy the landscapes, trails and mountains of the orography of Cordoba and Jaén for a week.