La EPIC Gran Canaria has already chosen its champions. A great party, with batucada, live music, comparsa, drag and a whole display have created a unique atmosphere to close the eighth edition of this cycling event. The Italian Luca Chiesa has revalidated his title in the race with the Swedish Emma Belforth, which has been unbeatable throughout the competition.
With a stage of 75 kilometers, the 22 timed kilometers that separate Lomo Maspalomas from the town of Tirajana have decided the titles, which have fallen to men in Luca Chiesa (2:47'34”), Marcos Garcia (2:47'49”) and Blas Arturo Rivero (2:48'32”); while the women's category has been led by Emma Belforth (3:12'32”), Susan Maclean (3:30'29”), and Yvonne Margraf (3:41'28”).
![[Img # 19153]](https://maspalomas24h.com/upload/images/02_2025/7642_img_8582.jpeg)
In junior, the title went to Nestor Herrera, Hugo Lauces and Hector Jesus Santana in third position; and in women Ane Zubeldia, Carolina Aleman, and Noelia del Carmen Perez; in addition to the prize for the largest team, the Yrichen group, followed by Bike Division.
Starting from the RIU Palace Maspalomas hotel, this was a stage full of spectacle, with a fast and very dynamic time trial climb in which less than a second made the difference at the head of the race. In the men's category, this stage was a high-level sporting fight between the leaders of the pack, with the Italian Luca Chiesa determined to keep the title he won in the last edition. Completing the time trial in 49 minutes and 36 seconds (49'36”495), Chiesa won again, in a battle against the best local talent, with the island cyclists pushing hard. With less than a second difference and crossing the finish line together, he finished second. Blas Arturo Rivero (49'39”912), and the German Daniel Kierok (49'45”) to close the podium of the stage. The good performance yesterday, with two more time trials, have given him the victory in the general classification. Luca Chiesa, along with the canaries Marcos Garcia and Blas Arturo Rivero.
In the women's category, the Swedish cyclist Emma Belforth (57'32”) was the fastest of the stage, winning absolutely all the time trials and proving unbeatable in this weekend of sport in Gran Canaria. In this last timed section, Belforth had as her strongest rival the Polish athlete Martha Keller (1:04'16”), and the also Swedish Susan Maclean (1:04'55”). According to the total accumulated time, the EPIC Gran Canaria has crowned its champions, Emma Belforth (3:12'32”), Susan Maclean (3:30'29”), and Yvonne Margraf (3:41'28”).
![[Img # 19152]](https://maspalomas24h.com/upload/images/02_2025/6138_img_8578.jpeg)
With 500 cyclists of 23 nationalities, the EPIC Gran Canaria has held an awards ceremony that is already a hallmark of this event, the Dunes of Maspalomas have been the unrivaled setting to crown the champions, with Marcos Garcia and Lourdes Bethencourt as the best Canarians of this edition. The councillors for Tourism and Sports of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Yilenia Vega and Ramón Suárez, and the acting mayor Alejandro Marichal, as well as the commercial director of RIU Hotels & Resorts, Maurice Damen, participated in this awards ceremony.
After a first stage of 115 kilometres and two timed sections on Saturday, and today's stage with 75 kilometres and a single competition section, with a descent that passes through Santa Lucía de Tirajana, La Era, Vecindario, Doctoral and Bahía Feliz, the eighth edition closes with a new success in terms of organisation, participation and the best atmosphere, confirmed with a great collective lunch with paella and live music.
The EPIC Gran Canaria has formed its starting line with iconic names of this sport in its ranks such as Alessandro Ballan, Igor Astarloa, Haimar Zubeldia, Iban Mayo, David López, Mario Cipollini, Claudio Chiapucci, and content creators such as Ana González, Juliet Elliot, Martín Mata and Daniel Sanz.
For the ninth edition
The EPIC Gran Canaria RIU Hotels & Resorts is more than just a race, and that is how its participants define it. With a maximum capacity of 500 places, which this year were filled in just 48 hours, the most popular cycling event in the south of Gran Canaria has more than one challenge.
Showing the island as a cycling paradise and serving as an ambassador to the world of the most popular and spectacular routes, EPIC brings images of the landscapes and the good conditions for this sport through its cyclists to the entire planet, promoting the virtues of the destination and its potential for high-level sports tourism, for training, competing and relaxing, of quality and sustainability.
Furthermore, this race, integrated into the UCI calendar and the Gran Fondo World Tour circuit, has become the launching pad for the European season and a meeting point for professionals and amateurs who share their experiences in this sport that they are passionate about. With the close of this eighth edition, the EPIC Gran Canaria RIU Hotels & Resorts is starting to warm up for its ninth edition, with more surprises.
