Preview. From the 14 to the 18 of February the peloton tackles the Vuelta a Andalucia. Last year Tadej Pogacar took the victory, the Spanish race hosts big names every single year with exciting racing.
The opening day of the race is incredibly tricky. 3700 meters of climbing, however this is not a day that features any big climb. The riders do go from sea level to 1500 meters of altitude slowly mid-stage, but come-down. It is in Cádiar that the stage ends with a downhill finale, however this comes after a 3.3-kilometer ascent at 7.6% that finishes with 2 kilometers to go.
The second day of racing has a tough start right outside Vélez-Málaga, with a few climbs. A 17-kilometer climb will open things up. Midway through the stage we'll have a key climb in the race which is 3 kilometers at 9.8%, which several explosive hilltops right after. The race may break apart here. There is still a long way to go to the finish however, and the hilltop finish into Alcaudete is 8.5 kilometers at 3.5% - not a serious climb, but differences can be made here certainly, and tactics can be crucial.
Stage 1: La Herradura (Almuñécar) - Cádiar, 163.4 kilometers
Stage 2: Vélez-Málaga - Alcaudete, 159.7 kilometers
If there is a day that can end in a sprint, it is the third stage. 164 kilometers into Pozoblanco will have 2200 meters of climbing and has rolling roads all throughout the day. The final third of the stage is not overly hard however. A bunch sprint is certainly possible, however even on this day there is a drag to the line which may open things up.
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The fourth day of racing is another explosive one, this one into Lucena. The main feature of the day is the final circuit. The peloton takes in four laps of a circuit that has a 2.2-kilometer ascent at 6.8%. This ends with only 4 kilometers to go; from there on we've got a very fast non-technical downhill finish.
The race ends at La Línea de la Concepción. The finale is flat, the easiest of the entire race, but the day's first half is very hard. Right from the start we've got a 20-kilometer climb at 5% where the race may break apart completely. Following that, there is a plateau section, and three ascents (5.1Km at 5.1%; 3.6Km at 5% and 7.6Km at 5.9%) where the race may break apart finally. If not, it will be hard to make the differences later on, but it should make for an interesting stage.
Stage 3: Arjona - Pozoblanco, 164.6 kilometers
Stage 4: Córdoba - Lucena, 168.2 kilometers
Stage 5: Benahavis - La Línea de la Concepción, 173 kilometers
Prediction Vuelta a Andalucia 2024 overall classification:
*** Tim Wellens, Santiago Buitrago
** Juan Ayuso, Marc Soler
* Rafal Majka, Damiano Caruso, Jack Haig, Wout Poels, Ruben Guerreiro, Alex Baudin, Felix Gall, Maxim van Gils
** Juan Ayuso, Marc Soler
* Rafal Majka, Damiano Caruso, Jack Haig, Wout Poels, Ruben Guerreiro, Alex Baudin, Felix Gall, Maxim van Gils
Pick: Tim Wellens
Preview written by Rúben Silva.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas15-11-2026 - Many Europeans say that Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia are one of the most beautiful countries in Europe known for their stunning landscapes because of the Alp mountains, green forests, clean rivers and lakes, coastlines, and national parks.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
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- Riding a mountain bike off road after his injuries is not very responsiblecaptmike15-11-2026
- disagreed. in this year's tdf he was unable to ride away from the young guns in the stages before his crash. there were several riders at least close to, if not on, his level in the second week: seixas, remco, del toro, lipo. next year jonas is a year older and the younger riders gained a year of experience and strength. if you then try to skip part of the high altitude training ... i doubt that jonas will make the podium at tdf 27. for sure he is not the favourite for runner up. he will be in the mix, yes. but not THE favourite for 2nd place.Ketterechts15-11-2026
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- headline criticism agreed. but otherwise he certainly has a point. you can negotiate extra perks if you are way above he rest ... however, these times have long gone ...Ketterechts15-11-2026
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- 1️⃣4️⃣ días para la 70° VUELTA CICLISTA A ANDALUCÍA - RUTA DEL SOL ¿Quién sucederá a @TamauPogi tras su victoria del año pasado? 🤔 📅 ¡Nos vemos el 14 de febrero en Almuñécar - La Herradura!
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