Preview Vuelta a Murcia 2026 stage 2 - Is Tom Pidcock's climbing power enough to defeat Marc Soler's UAE?

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 2, which is estimated to start and finish at 11:15 and 15:30CET.

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 second and queen stage of the race features a route that is more widely known by the riders, starting off from the city of Murcia and then climbing the Alto Collado Bermejo, which is 16 kilometers long at 5.5%. However, the climb is positioned in the first third of the day, and it may very well not have an effect on the outcome of the race.

Most likely, the riders will save their legs towards the ascent to Cresta del Gallo, which is 4.4 kilometers long at 6.6%, and ends with 23 kilometers to go. This ascent should split the peloton up into bits, and then the riders that remain close to the front can battle it out for the win in either a small group sprint or through tactical racing in the flat arrival to Santomera.

The wind will blow again and so we could see more chaos happening in Murcia. However, the climbs is where we will look at, where UAE now has the responsibility to defend Marc Soler's lead. Usually, they will be able to do this as he is a strong climber, the team has good support specially in Tim Wellens and Igor Arrieta - but also in Julius Johansen, if the crosswinds affect the race, and the final climb is not hard enough to destroy the peloton and keep the gaps over the flat section.

However, Tom Pidcock looked very strong today and is also a very good descender, which means we may see dangerous moves, specially if there is an alliance with someone like Pello Bilbao or Héctor Alvaréz.

*** Tom Pidcock, Héctor Alvaréz
** Pello Bilbao, Tim Wellens,
* Quinten Hermans, Matej Mohoric, Marc Soler, Andrea Raccagni, Simone Velasco, Raul García Pierna, Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda, Jon Barrenetxa, Matyas Kopecky

Pick: Héctor Alvaréz

How: Small group sprint.