The third stage of O Gran Camiño 2026 will run through the province of A Coruña and will link two towns with a deep-rooted cycling tradition, starting in Carballo and finishing in Padrón.
This was announced on Friday by the race director and CEO of EME Sports, Ezequiel Mosquera, at an event that once again served to confirm the invaluable support of the Provincial Council of A Coruña for the great Galician stage race, held at an emblematic venue in the town of Padrón, the Rosalía de Castro House Museum.
It will be on April 16 when the international peloton of O Gran Camiño, featuring some of the leading riders in the sport, rides along the roads of A Coruña. A date eagerly awaited by Galician fans and by cycling followers from beyond Spain’s borders, this stage will once again run between Carballo and Padrón, something the race director described as “a source of pride”.
During the event, Ezequiel Mosquera highlighted the significant social importance of cycling in both towns. More specifically, he recalled that Carballo has “a great deal of cycling tradition” and that the sport has “strong social importance and deep roots” there through its clubs.
“And Padrón breathes cycling on all sides,” summed up the CEO of EME Sports, stressing that this town in A Coruña has “a benchmark club and benchmark sponsors” in the sport. In fact, he acknowledged that this was a long-standing debt: “It was long overdue to come to Padrón,” he added.
Furthermore, without revealing the details and surprises of this year’s route, which will be unveiled soon, Ezequiel Mosquera once again claimed that O Gran Camiño is not only a fully established and internationally attractive race, but also an event that goes “beyond cycling”. “In addition to cycling, it is about promoting our land; it is history, above all the history of Galicia,” he said, praising its link with the Way of St. James.
A TRIBUTE TO THE FANS
Friday’s event was attended by the mayors of Carballo and Padrón, the Sports Councillor of Padrón Town Council, and the provincial deputy for Sports of the Provincial Council of A Coruña, Antonio Leira.
In his speech, the mayor of Carballo, Daniel López, highlighted the town’s “strong cycling fan base” and considered that this stage is “a tribute” to all those who “contribute every day to making this a top-level sport” in the municipality.
For his part, the mayor of Padrón, Anxo Rei, underlined the close link between cycling and the town, which this year will host “four major races in just two months”. “We are a town that carries cycling in our DNA,” he said, before praising “the ability of all administrations to work together” to make an event of the stature of O Gran Camiño possible.
A FESTIVE DAY FOR THE PROVINCE
Antonio Leira, the provincial deputy for Sports of the Provincial Council of A Coruña, closed the event by pointing out that today is “a festive day not only for Carballo and Padrón, but for the entire province”, which will once again showcase its many attractions to the world.
For the provincial deputy, taking part in events like this “gives meaning” to the work of a public administration for citizens, and this stage, he added, settles “a debt” with Carballo and Padrón. “We hope that the peloton carries with it the drive and commitment we have to both towns,” he said.
Finally, Antonio Leira praised the trajectory of O Gran Camiño and its ability to project Galicia beyond our borders, and called on the UCI to “recognise the place OGC deserves”, something it has already “clearly demonstrated”.
