Preview Vuelta a Murcia 2026 stage 1 - Pidcock and Mohoric men to watch on explosive downhill finale

The Vuelta a Murcia will be taking place from the 13th to the 14th of February, having a two-day format this year. The race provides stages for the sprinters, classics specialists and climbers to build on their form towards bigger goals this spring, whilst providing reputable wins for those who venture out in southern Spain. We preview stage 1, which is estimated to start and finish at 11:45 and 16:00CET.

The Vuelta a Murcia is a race with tremendous history, decades of some of Spains' very best who have taken part in it and have won it as well. Pedro Delgado won the initial edition of the race back in 1981 whilst Miguel Induráin was the winner in 1986, both of which far before going on to Tour de France glory.

he race continued to feature prominent national and international start's throughout 1990's with Marco Pantani winning it in 1999 whilst being the Giro and Tour de France's reigning champion; Whilst this century Murcia's very own Alejandro Valverde won the race on five times in total. The likes of Denis Menchov, Alberto Contador (who was stripped of his in in 2011), Nairo Quintana and Philippe Gilbert also stand on the race's palmarès. On some years, this was a one-day race, and this has been the case since 2021. Last year it was Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team's Jan Christen who took a surprising victory in the sprint.

The opening stage of the race is one where all the action will be condensed in the finale. The stage starts off in Cartagena and finishes in Yecla, with a 1.3-kilometer long climb at 7% ending with just over 3 kilometers to go. The downhill finale makes it very hard to organize any chase, and we could see a late attack succeeding.

*** Hector Alvaréz, Tom Pidcock
** Matej Mohoric, Milan Menten, Tim Wellens
* Casper Pedersen, Jon Barrenetxea, Quinten Hermans, Pello Bilbao, Marc Soler, Andrea Raccagni, Simone Velasco, Raul García Pierna, Benoìt Cosnefroy

Pick: Hector Alvaréz

How: Small group sprint