The winner of the 2001 Vuelta a Espana, Angel Casero, and his ex-pro brother Rafael have announced that they are leading the charge to see the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana return to the pro calendar in 2016, after the last edition was in 2008.

The race would be provisionally held between February 3 to 7, with a 15km time trial, a hilly stage, a summit finish and a final sprint stage into Valencia included, although the route is still being worked out. According to local newspaper Superdeporte, the race intends to have TV coverage and to regain the budget of 800.000€ it had back in 2008.

“Six years ago, when the Volta first failed to happen, I already tried to get involved and offered the then organizers some sponsorship I had arranged on my own. Unfortunately, none of the contacts went ahead,” he explained. “This year, my brother Rafael and me decided to try again and found out with delight that politicians and businessmen from our region took our project with both hands. We already have many deals set and will have everything buckled up by December, 60 days before the race,’ Angel Casero told Cyclingnews when they contacted him looking for information on the race’s revival.

Casero says that there is “99%” chance the race returns in 2016, and it will be ranked 2.1 by the UCI, and the Spaniard says he is extremely grateful to the numerous federations who have supported him.

“We’re grateful to the federations, because as a new event we should have been allocated in the 2.2 category but they conceded us the 2.1 straight away. That will enable us to assemble a very interesting field,” Casero said. “We already met with some teams at the start of the Vuelta a España 9th stage in Valencia. They were happy to hear we were holding the race and expressed their willingness to take part in it”.

The race is expected to suit teams who have winter training camps in Mallorca, as they can race straight after the camps, giving the riders good grounding ahead of other races in February in Southern Spain: Vuelta a Murcia, Clasica de Almeria and the Ruta del Sol.