Former pro Pedro Delgado, winner of one Tour de France and two Vueltas a España, has been announced as a guest participant on the 2016 edition of the Mallorca 312 sportive.
Every year the organisers of the Mallorca 312 - Giant - Taiwan invite a former professional cyclist to honour his career and give all participants the opportunity to ride alongside him. Star guests are given the bib number 312, symbolising the 312km of this gruelling sportive and the prestige of the one who wears it.
Past recipients include Sean Kelly and five-times Tour winer Miguel Induráin, and once again the prestige of the honoured cyclist is immense for this seventh edition of the sportive. Pedro Delgado (born Segovia, 1960) is one of the most popular Spanish riders of recent years and in 1988 became the third Spaniard to win the Tour de France after Federico Martín Bahamontes and Luis Ocaña.
Pedro Delgado, nicknamed "Perico", began his professional career in 1982 in the Reynolds team and one year later, drew attention in his first participation in the Tour de France when he finished 15th in the overall classification.
In 1985 he won the Vuelta a España for the first time and in 1987 he was on the podium of the Tour de France, second after Ireland's Stephen Roche. In 1988 he won the Tour the France, and in 1989 he won his second Vuelta a España with Miguel Induráin already in his team.
He would not win another grand tour but was again once on the podium of the Vuelta and Tour before retiring in 1993.
One of the most charismatic Spanish cyclists will ride again to tackle the 312 kilometres of the Mallorca 312. Delgado will join 4,000 other cyclists on the start line in front of the Hotel Iberostar Playa de Muro to challenge themselves amid some of the best scenery and views in Europe: two ingredients that might moderate the climbing and soothe the pain on this epic one-day challenge.
The Mallorca 312 takes place on 30 April 2016. Entries are now sold out, but stay tuned for a report and news of the 2017 edition later in the year.
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