Preview Vuelta a Andalucia 2026 stage 2 - Can Visma make a two out of two?

The 2026 Vuelta a Andalucia is going to take place between the 18 and 22nd of February, in the southern region of Spain where the stages are always either hilly or mountainous. This edition is no exception, with a set of stages that is set to make for some chaotic and tactical racing. We preview stage 2, which is estimated to start and finish at 12:20 and 15:40CET.

The Spanish race carries a long history, having had its first edition in 1925, followed by a 30-year hiatus. In 1955 the race began to have consistent editions, mostly dominated by the eras' Spanish headliners. Former Belgian World Champions Jean-Pierre Monseré and Freddy Maertens brought the race more international recognition, but the race has always featured a very prominent list of Spanish winners.

Over the years we've seen riders such as Erik Zabel (1997), Erik Dekker (2001), Óscar Freire (2007), Alejandro Valverde (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017), Chris Froome (2015) and more take victories... In 2023 it was Tadej Pogacar who decided to make the trip to Spain and dominated the race, whilst last year in 2025 it was his teammate Pavel Sivakov who took the overall win.

Stage 2 of the race features a profile that is not too different from the opening day, only the distance of the main climbs to the finish is not as high. The day is short, starting off in Torrox and finishing in Otura, with only 138 kilometers to be raced. The opening kilometers feature a section of small short and explosive climbs that can be used to form a strong group, but again the race can explode early on in a long climb.

The Puerto de la Cabra is 25 kilometers long, averaging 4.6%, but this is including a flat section that is not very short. It's a climb that can be quite difficult, specially if attacked hard, and the summit lies 76 kilometers away from the finish - not a long distance to attack by 2026 standards. From there on it is a mix of flat roads and climbs that are not overly hard... It can be tactical, or be raced towards a sprint in the slight rise to the line in Otura.

*** Christophe Laporte, Soren Waerenskjold
** Orluis Aular, Fred Wright, Alex Aranburu
* Tim Wellens, Jan Christen, Benoît Cosnefroy, Jon Barrenetxea, Sandy Dujardin, Quinten Hermans, Haimar Etxeberria, Paul Penhöet, Bastien Tronchon, Axel Zingle

Pick: Christophe Laporte

How: Reduced bunch sprint.