Vuelta a Murcia neutralized - Final stage to feature only a final urban circuit as strong winds blew riders off the road
CyclingSaturday, 14 February 2026 at 14:41
Stage 2 of the Vuelta a Murcia has been cut and neutralized. After the strong winds completely blew the opening stage apart, after most of it was already cut; even worst consequences have surged from the second day of racing.
Stage 1 of the race was cut to a mere 83 kilometers, and the race nevertheless exploded right away in the strong winds. UAE Team Emirates - XRG ultimately dominated in the chaos, with Marc Soler and Julius Johansen taking a one-two stage win.
Tom Pidcock was left chasing behind, and today was expected to be on the attack in the race's queen stage, which featured two climbs. However, before the riders even got there, they were being blown off the road. A video shared from the Unibet Rose Rockets team car shows riders literally stopped on the side of the road, struggling to stay upright.
The organization has confirmed its decision through a message: "Due to strong winds, and as it is impossible to continue, the peloton will move to Santomera to ride a 10 km neutralized urban circuit. Times will not be recorded, but there will be a stage winner and the jerseys will be awarded".
Marc Soler confirms another win for UAE
Hence, Marc Soler has confirmed his overall classification win. There will still be a stage winner, with the sprinters being the favoured riders on the day. The start to the 'new' stage is set for later in the afternoon.
Similarly, the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana women's race was cancelled today due to the strong wind; whilst the Figueira Champions Classic's course was also changed due to the strong winds in Portugal. Meanwhile, whilst it is set to go through, the riders at the Tour de la Provence are expected to head into a snow-covered finale at Station de Lure.
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- Chill dude, we know Remco lives rent-free in your headmobk14-02-2026
- Maybe get a DS job Doper ! Your 20/20 hindsight analysis is getting lame!frieders314-02-2026
- ok, FINE, so van der poel’s resting rate is lower than mine, what about it?! (though i have no idea what it means, his MAX heart rate is comparatively low as well.)OCexile14-02-2026
- This looks like it'd be a good watch with a route like so
leedorney13-02-2026 - The thing is that until someone fails a test or is caught in some other way then riders should be considered innocent. However, when the climb times, level of competition, watts achieved and many other data points are taken into consideration and put in context with guys like Armstrong, whom they are kicking to 20th place on mountains he once dominated and held records on, when we know he was doping in his prime, it seems impossible that cheating at some level is not happening. I think a guy like Tadej is probably a guy who only comes along in two or three generations, looking at the way he wins across different cycling disciplines tells me this. Like everything else, time will tell the truth. I want guys like Tadej and Jonas to be clean and I hope they are, I'll keep believing anyway until someone who is really in the know, like a failed test or the UCI, tells me different.awp13-02-2026
- Stupid quote. There is not a single person who in their life has not been lied to, for different reasons: also self-defense, kindness, mercy with others, etc. Then is a world of unrepentant DANGEROUS liars? you included?. And why is this atmosphere of CONSTANT suspicion and accusation only applicable to cycling and not to all sports that have had mega doping scandals?
maria2024202413-02-2026 - What a wet stage. I love it when the breakaway wins, especially with a Conti rider. Fabulous!RidesHills13-02-2026
- The UAE Tour is now level on UCI points with the 7 major stage races, and looking at the 2026 route, I think it deserves it. Previously, it was comprised of 4 flat stages for the sprinters (with the opening stage to Liwa Palace being an uphill finish), 1 flat ITT, 1 shallow summit finish to Jebel Jais (which served only to kick out the non-GC contenders like Joshua Tarling, as it always ends in a sprint of the climbers) and 1 steep summit finish of Jebel Hafeet (where the GC is always decided). In this route, one flat sprint has been replaced with the hilly Fujairah stage, a novelty in the race, providing variation not normally seen here. The Jebel Jais stage has been replaced with the Jebel Yibir stage, and crucially this comes before the easier Jebel Hafeet stage (if it had been the other way round, riders would go easy on Jebel Hafeet). In addition to this, the opening and closing stages (Liwa Palace and the Abu Dhabi Breakwater) have become iconic. What's missing is that all the mountain stages have very little variation, all being unipuerto. Because they don't have big mountain passes, the solution is to make some of their big climbs into dual carriageways. Jebel Jais and Jebel Hafeet are already very wide. That also opens up the possibility of having mountain stages with flat finishes, which increases variation further. Of course there are the ethical issues of promoting further a race in such a country. The question would be if previous winners of the race will have their wins counted as triumphs in a major stage race. This race doesn't have the history but that can't be used as a defining metric because then there's no hope for any new race.
Rafionain-Glas13-02-2026 - Remco Mustafa is a f**** liar. He knew very well that Pogi will not race the UAE Tour. In December 2025 Pogi said, that he doesn't have a schedule yet but his first race will be Strade Bianche. After asked about the UAE Tour, he said NO, not next year. Capish, you Belgian Mustafa?Mou-Cro-HR13-02-2026
- Zonneveld is trying to make a name for himself attacking Pogacar like David Walsh of the Sunday Times attacked Pharmstrong all those years. Only difference really, at the end of all things Walsh was a damned fine investigative journalist.....slappers6613-02-2026
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Blown away. Literally. 🌪️ 🙏 Luckily everyone is okay. The race is neutralised. 🇪🇸 #VueltaRM2026
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