PREVIEW | Volta a Comunitat Valenciana 2025 - Dozens of great climbers battle for prestigious early season win!
Cycling
The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2025 will take place from the 5th to the 9th of February and will be one of the absolute highlights of the early-season calendar, as many stars take the opportunity to race in the region they have spent weeks training in this winter. We preview the race ahead.
The start of the competition will be a 34-kilometer team time trial between Orihuela and Orihuela Playa, a discipline that returns after seven years and an effort that will be longer than those at the Tour de France and Vuelta a España.
Stage 2 will be the queen stage of the race starting in La Nucia and going deep into the mountains where there should be a spectacular finale. There are three ascents in the final 30 kilometers, the finale is categorized by a combination of climbs that can make serious differences.
The climb to Benimantell is 5.5 kilometers at 7% with bonys seconds at the top, only 10 kilometers away from the finish. After a short descent the riders will climb up the Font de Partegat climb, a very steep 4.3 kilometer ascent that averages 9.5% but reaches quite steep gradients towards the end. Proper terrain for the climbers to make the difference.
Stage 3 from Algemesi to Alpuente won't be as difficult but it certainly will be more open. The flat start doesn't favour breakaways but the ending of stage 3 is very unusual. The climb to El Remedio is 7.9 kilometers long at 6.5% and with bonus seconds at the top as well, we can see serious attacks up it.
It summits with 21 kilometers to go and afterwards there is no serious descent, but instead rolling roads with a peloton that will be small and where tactics can be crucial both for the stage win and overall classification. The final 1.2 kilometers will still average 7%, so differences can also be made in the effort to the line.
Stage 4 is a bit of a beast, with 181 kilometers on the menu and 3500 meters of climbing. The situation is that these climbs are spread all throughout the day, and it's almost an ideal day for raids. It's the last opportunity for the overall classification to change, in a day where the climbs can fit many riders, but at the same time some are hard enough for the climbers to test each other to the limit.
There is a lot that can happen, with the toughest climbs coming in with around 100 kilometers to go but there never being a long descent. If chaos ensures, it will be very hard to control anything, and it's terrain for a spectacular day of racing. The finale in Portell de Morella is slightly uphill, meaning that even a sprint should be quite open.
The final day finally is one for the sprinters and with no obstacles in the way. A short and pan-flat day on the bike, finishing in the city of Valencia where only a few months ago, deadly floods put the race at risk.
Prediction Volta a Comunitat Valenciana 2025 overall classification: 7
*** Pavel Sivakov, Aleksandr Vlasov, Carlos Rodríguez
** Ben O'Connor, João Almeida, Santiago Buitrago
* Brandon McNulty, Pello Bilbao, Lenny Martínez, Jai Hindley, Filippo Zana, Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda, Louis Meintjes, Thymen Arensman, Davide Piganzoli, Joseph Blackmore, Pablo Castrillo
Pick: Pavel Sivakov
Original: Rúben Silva
🚗FLOTA OFICIAL #VCV2025 Y #VCVFÉMINAS
— Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana - VCV (@VueltaCV) February 3, 2025
🔝 Un año más, y ya van 10, recorremos las carreteras valencianas de la mano de @HyundaiKoryoCar
👏Un año especial, después de que la DANA arrasara su concesionario situado en la Pista de Silla
💪 ¡Por muchos años más! @hyundaikoryocar pic.twitter.com/JNv4s4i4o4
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