Preview Volta a Comunitat Valenciana 2026 - Remco Evenepoel versus João Almeida on brutal route

From the 4th to the 8th of February the World Tour peloton take on the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana. A race above many of its World Tour peers in terms of startlist, it features every year a whole array of starts looking to use the good weather and familiar roads to kick off their season. We preview the race ahead.

The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana is one of the most cherished early-season stage races on the European calendar, marking its first edition in 1929 and evolving over nearly a century into a key preparation target for GC-oriented riders and ambitious classics contenders alike. Initially known under names like Vuelta a Levante and Vuelta a Valencia, the race has seen interruptions — including a long hiatus after 2008 before its successful revival in 2016 — but its reputation has remained sky-high as the teams race in the road where they train all winter long to prepare for their seasons.

In the 20th century it gave chance to many Spanish riders who have added this race into their palmarès, however in the 1950's it became popular amongst international figures as well, specially with Rik van Looy taking the win back in 1959 - the second non-Spanish win, and the only time until 1990 where there wasn't a Spaniard on the podium.

The list of winners then grew in quality exponentially in the 1980's with Bernard Hinault and Stephen Roche being crowned winners; the likes of Alex Zülle, Laurent Jalabert, Alxandre Vinokourov, Abraham Olano, Alejandro Valverde, Alessandro Petacchi have then won the race as well... Since the 'modern' Valenciana was brought back in 2016 the list of winners has not become more modest, with Nairo Quintana and Tadej Pogacar amongst those who have raised their arms. Last year it was Santiago Buitrago who won the overall classification.

The race starts off with the best opportunity the sprinters will have all week. There will be two small climbs towards the end of the stage but these will not be overly hard, and so the flat finale into Torreblanca should crown a fast man as the first leader of the race.

The second day of racing will see the riders go from Carlet to Alginet, a 17-kilometer long effort in the shape of a time trial. But this is going to be a tricky one, with some climbing into the intermediate point and then descending back down. However the riders will find technical roads in which caution is going to be necessary - not only good legs.

Stage 3 is a warm-up to the decisive days of the race, but this one can in itself be key. The riders will pass through Alicante and then climb the 7.5-kilometer long Alto di Tibi which averages at 5% and finishes with 37 kilometers to go.

However there are bonus seconds at the top and there are bonus seconds yet again only a few kilometers later. The combination of explosive climbs and descending makes chasing very hard and into San Vicente del Raspeig we could see a small group or solo winner - or potentially a small peloton sprint between those who survive.

The queen stage of the race with 3200 meters of climbing. A rough day, starting off in La Nucia and quickly going up the Coll de Rates side through Tarbena - arguably the most difficult one. The riders will go down and then ascent the Alto Miserat which is 5.4 kilometers long at 10%, still in the first third of the stage, which can implode it.

It is a day designed for chaos. What follows is a hilly route without long climbs, but with constant rolling roads and small climbs. Towards the end the rider will tackle a 1.8-kilometer climb at 8% ending with 28 kilometers to go, and then the potential key section of the day.

The climb to Puig de la Lorença is 2.3 kilometers long at over 9% but its steepest ramps go well above that, and the climb ends with a mere 12 kilometers to go. What follows is a constant roller-coaster into Teulada, where even the final meters of the stage are uphill and serious gaps can be created.

The race will finish in Valencia but it is not a simple sprint stage. There are only 94 kilometers on the menu but they pack a lot of excitement, certainly. The riders will climb the Port del Garbi with 44 kilometers to go, a climb that has a 2.2-kilometer long section at 11%.

With bonus seconds at the top and more bonus seconds right before entering Valencia, there are strong reasons to attack the race and potentially turn it on its head. It'll be an interesting day's racing as the finale is completely flat into the city, where a lot of different race scenarios can lead to success.

*** Remco Evenepoel, João Almeida
** Mattias Skjelmose, Mattias Vacek, Antonio Tiberi
* Iván Romeo, Pablo Castrillo, Cian Uijtdebroeks, Johannes Kulset, Giulio Pellizzari, Marc Soler, Steff Cras, Damiano Caruso

Pick: Remco Evenepoel