VPV and Clásica receive vital support

Things are on the up for the organizers of the Vuelta al País Vasco and the Clásica San Sebastián these days. Just weeks after banking group Sabadell Guipuzcoano stepped in to save the race from extinction and secure its future, the provincial council of Gipuzkoa has announced they'll keep sponsoring the event 'till 2014.

The Vuelta al País Vasco starts tomorrow, so the news could hardly have come at a better time. The provincial council has prolonged the deal they signed back in 2008, and will have their name on the 'Metas Volantes'-banners and on banners inside the last few kilometres in each event. Each race will receive 70 000 euros per year, meaning 420 000 euros will be in the bank of the organizers by the time 2014 comes along.

Jaime Ugarte, president of the Organizaciones Ciclistas Euskadi (the company responsible for putting on the race), was pleased when speaking to El Diario Vasco yesterday.

"We're very grateful for their support, and they'll see that through publicity on the road."