ANALYSIS | The Spanish climber set to be key for UAE at the 2026 Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana
CyclingSunday, 28 December 2025 at 19:00
The new road season is already very close. For all teams, it marks the beginning of a new three-year cycle in which they will fight to retain or secure WorldTour licences.
However, this will not be a concern for UAE Team Emirates - XRG, whose objective will be to remain what it already is: the best team in the world.
To achieve that, the Emirati squad has unveiled its plans for 2026 with very clear ideas. Tadej Pogacar will be the leader at the Tour de France, with Isaac del Toro as his star domestique, while also competing in all the Monuments. Meanwhile, Joao Almeida will take on leadership roles at both the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana. And within that plan, there is a common denominator: Marc Soler.
Since joining UAE in 2022, the experienced Spanish climber has become an indispensable part of Matxin’s team at the major races on the calendar. His self-sacrifice each season for the collective good is worthy of admiration, and this is reflected in his programme for the 2026 season:
- Gran Premio Castellon 2026
- Trofeo Ses Salines 2026
- Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2026
- Volta a Catalunya 2026
- Itzulia 2026
- Tour de Suisse 2026
- Tour de France 2026
- Vuelta a España 2026
Of the eight races he will contest, in two of them he will take on the role of helper to Tadej Pogacar: the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de France. These are likely to be the two most important races of the season for UAE, because the former will be used by the Slovenian as preparation to arrive at the latter in peak condition. And at the Grande Boucle, Pogacar himself will be chasing his fifth title, which would see him make history.
Later, at the Vuelta a España, Soler will once again act as a helper to Joao Almeida, where the Portuguese rider, based on the riders confirmed so far, is the favourite to win the general classification ahead of Primoz Roglic. There is no doubt that Marc Soler’s role in 2026 is shaping up to be crucial for the overall interests of UAE Team Emirates - XRG.
Marc Soler in the 2025 season with UAE Team Emirates - XRG
Marc Soler will race both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España in 2026.
The palmares of Marc Soler
At present, Marc Soler is one of the best Spanish cyclists in the world for many reasons. One of them is his impressive palmares. Despite never having been a long term team leader at either Movistar Team or UAE Team Emirates XRG, the Catalan rider has achieved results that would be the envy of almost any professional cyclist:
- Overall victory at Paris Nice 2018
- Four stage wins at the Vuelta a España (2020, 2022, 2024 and 2025)
- Overall victory at the Vuelta a Asturias 2025
- Stage victory at the Tour de Romandie 2021
- Victory at Pollenca Andratx 2020
- Overall victory at the Tour de l Avenir 2025
- Stage victory at the Vuelta a Asturias 2025
- Stage victory at the Route du Sud Cycliste 2016
- Top three overall at the Volta a Catalunya 2017
- Two second place stage finishes at the Vuelta a España (2020 and 2022)
- Five third place stage finishes at the Vuelta a España (2017, 2022 and 2024)
The best result of Marc Soler’s career
As can be seen, the best result of Marc Soler’s career is his overall victory at Paris-Nice 2018, which finished as follows:
- Marc Soler – Movistar Team
- Simon Yates – Mitchelton Scott – at 0:04
- Gorka Izagirre – Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team – at 0:14
- Ion Izagirre – Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team – at 0:16
- Tim Wellens – Lotto Soudal
- Dylan Teuns – BMC Racing Team – at 0:32
- Patrick Konrad – BORA hansgrohe – at 0:44
- Alexis Vuillermoz – AG2R La Mondiale – at 1:54
- David de la Cruz – Team Sky – at 2:15
- Felix Grossschartner – BORA hansgrohe – at 2:35
- Richard Carapaz – Movistar Team – at 3:47
- Sergio Henao – Team Sky – at 4:08
- Sam Oomen – Team Sunweb – at 5:03
- Jakob Fuglsang – Astana Pro Team – at 5:51
- Rudy Molard – Groupama FDJ – at 8:16
- Ilnur Zakarin – Team Katusha Alpecin – at 11:35
- Warren Barguil – Team Fortuneo Samsic – at 12:45
- Julian Alaphilippe – Quick Step Floors – at 14:13
- Roman Kreuziger – Mitchelton Scott – at 14:53
- Mikael Cherel – AG2R La Mondiale – at 16:14
- Luis Leon Sanchez – Astana Pro Team – at 17:19
- Remy Di Gregorio – Delko Marseille Provence KTM – at 20:15
- Pierre Rolland – Team EF Education First Drapac p b Cannondale – at 22:09
- Jose Herrada – Cofidis Solutions Credits – at 22:36
- Oliver Naesen – AG2R La Mondiale – at 22:59
- Omar Fraile – Astana Pro Team – at 24:25
- Cyril Gautier – AG2R La Mondiale – at 24:47
- Tony Gallopin – AG2R La Mondiale – at 28:04
- Pawel Poljanski – BORA hansgrohe – at 29:13
- Bauke Mollema – Trek Segafredo – at 29:47
- Michael Valgren – Astana Pro Team – at 31:15
- Matteo Trentin – Mitchelton Scott – at 33:01
- Diego Rosa – Team Sky – at 36:08
- Natnael Berhane – Team Dimension Data – at 37:50
- Jurgen Roelandts – BMC Racing Team – at 37:51
- Alessandro De Marchi – BMC Racing Team – at 38:07
- Delio Fernandez – Delko Marseille Provence KTM – at 38:31
- Robert Gesink – Team LottoNL Jumbo – at 38:35
- Jarlinson Pantano – Trek Segafredo – at 40:59
- Yves Lampaert – Quick Step Floors – at 41:07
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ChillingCyclist28-12-2025 - Joao Almeida won both Switzerland and Romandie this year!Lozza28-12-2025
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