Betalú defends its title against BH Templo Cafés
01/12/2022In the Titan Desert’s history, there are few names greater than Josep Betalú. The Tarragona native has won four editions of the Titan Desert in Morocco and also the only edition to date in Saudi Arabia, in 2020.
Although he has not been able to show his dominance in 2022, he will have one last chance to make up for it in the NEOM Titan Desert Saudi Arabia. Facing him, and trying to stand in the way of his triumph, there is a diverse group of riders: veterans, rookies and mountain bike superstars.
The name that stands out the most is David Valero. Olympic medalist and current world number one in XCO, if the Andalusian is in good shape, he could be the main contender to win the men’s GC. Alongside him will be his team boss at BH Templo Cafés, and also an Olympic medalist, Carlos Coloma.
Other mountainbike and road veterans will be on the lookout for their chance to win. Names such as Julen Zubero, Haimar Zubeldia, Oriol Colomé, Melcior Mauri, ‘Triki’ Beltrán or younger options, such as Roberto Bou, could spring a surprise.
In the women’s GC, Ariadna Ródenas seems to be the strongest name in the peloton. While she was not in full form at the ŠKODA Titan Desert Morocco, in Almería she proved to be one of the strongest competitors, participating in the Mixed Duo classification.
In the hunt for Ródenas will be other veterans of the race and well-known names in the Spanish peloton, such as Muriel Bohuet or Misha Sekulova, who at the ŠKODA Titan Desert Almería became the fifth woman to become a Titan Legend.
