Spain has finally caught up with the growing interest in off-road gravel racing, and the full details of the country's first "sterrato" event were announced today

The Clásica Jaén Paraiso Interior (translates as the Jaén Interior Paradise Classic) will be held on February 14 It will take place in eastern Andalusia, with a 40km gravel road set as the main challenge.

The hilly 196.1 km course, which has already been compared to Tuscany's Strade Bianche and Brittany's Toro Bro Leon, includes approximately 3,100 m of climbing and seven off-road sections. The circuit, which starts and finishes in two Renaissance cities, Baeza and Ubeda, has three long gravel roads.

The course, which runs through the vast olive grove "sea" of Haen, has three off-road sections in the first 50 km to ensure an early battle for the break. The final four sections will then be a tricky final lap, including a climb with a gradient of up to 10% before the finish in the center of Ubeda.

"People say it's like the Strade Bianche, but I think it also has elements of the French classics like the Belgian and Paris-Tours. In addition, it is a typical Italian one-day race circuit," race organizer Pascual Montparrère told Cycling News.

"The steep climb 700 meters before the finish in the central square of Ubeda is also part of the race because it is part of the Spanish tradition. We're trying to combine everything to give it a European feel."

The race has been deliberately incorporated between the Vuelta a Murcia and GP Almeria one-day races on February 12 and 13, and the Ruta del Sol, which takes place on the west side of Andalusia from February 16 to 20.

"It's better for the teams and logistics, because it allows as many WorldTour teams as possible to participate. Holding the event between Almería and Andalucía will help keep costs down. However, this is just for this year and then we will consider whether to change it."

The race is also an effort to make up for the chronic lack of one-day races in Spain. Aside from the recently held Mallorca Challenge one-day event, Jaen will be the fifth 1.1 ranked race in Spain.

"We wanted to organize something that was missing in Spanish racing," said Gonzalez. And the off-road element in Jaen is going to work, not only because of the demanding course, but also because of the outstanding natural beauty of the region."

Local authorities are currently immersed in a campaign to have Haen's olive-growing traditions and crops inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

As for the final crunch climb, he said, "It's completely off-road, six kilometers long, with a 12 percent grade on the last slope and another 12 percent slope in the middle. It's a very tough climb, but you have to be a rider who can accelerate hard because of the steepness.

"And in the last 700 meters from the summit to the finish, there is a paved road, albeit an urban cobblestone one, through Ubeda."

Six WorldTour teams will participate: Astana-Kazakstan, Bora-Hansgrohe, EF Education-Easy Post, Lotto-Soudal, Intermarque-Wanti-Gobert, and the local Movistar. Major riders include Miguel Angel Lopez and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Kazakstan), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), and Tim Wellens (Lot Soudal).