HAVANA, Cuba.- National champion Arnold Alcolea heads the Cuban sextet of road cyclists, which will compete from this Monday through the 29th, in the sixth Tour de San Luis, Argentina, rated 2.1 by the International Cycling Union.

The two-time champion of the Tour of Cuba (2009 and 2010) and bronze medalist in the Guadalajara 2011 Pan American Games will be accompanied by Yasmani Martinez Yennier Lopez, Jans Carlos Arias, Ruben Mojica and Jose Companioni, coached by trainer Cecilio Mera.

The first of seven stages, with 189.3 kilometers, begins today between the towns of San Luis and Villa Mercedes, which includes two intermediate sprints and a third category mountain prize.

Among the participants in this Tour are the Spanish riders Alberto Contador, three-time Tour de France winner (2007, 2009 and 2010), Belgium's Tom Boonen, world champion (2005), Italian Filippo Pozzato, winner of the Milan-San Remo classic ( 2006) and his compatriot defending champion Vincenzo Nibali, , among others.

For the Cubans, this tournament will provide training for the coming Pan American Championships to be held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, next March.