The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana launches the European stage racing season, offering riders their first chance to chase GC results on the continent.
The race was first held in 1929, but it went on a hiatus between 2009 and 2016. Since its reboot, it has been elevated to premier status in the early-season, with winners including Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Valverde and Tadej Pogačar. Last year, Bahrain Victorious’s Santiago Buitrago dominated affairs by claiming two stages and the overall title.
This year’s edition will span five stages within Spain’s Valencian region, which stretches from the regional capital Valencia down to Murcia via Benidorm and Alicante in between. The race boasts a stacked startlist in 2026, with the likes of João Almeida, Remco Evenepoel and Antonio Tiberi here to compete for the top prize. Biniam Girmay and Mads Pedersen will also travel to Valencia to make their 2026 season debuts.
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2026 key information
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
Date: 4th-8th March 2025
Start: Segorbe
Finish: Valencia
Stages: 5
Distance: 601.7km
2024 winner: Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious)
Live television coverage: TNT Sports, Discovery+, RTVE, FloBikes, HBO Max, Eurosport
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2026 route and stage-by-stage preview
The 2026 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana begins in the north of the region. From there, riders will enjoy a sprint stage to get the legs warmed up after a long off-season before the GC action ensues.
Indeed, the key GC moments are condensed into Stages 2, 3 and 4, starting with the second day’s 17km time-trial. Once the race of truth has dealt its judgment, the following day offers a mountainous final 50km, closing with a downhill finish on the outskirts of Alicante. The last chance for the climbers to make a difference comes on Stage 4, which is filled with familiar names along the Costa Blanca, including the Coll de Rates, Alto Miserat and Fustera.
To round things out, however, the riders will return to the northern half of the region with another chance for the sprinters in Valencia, where the overall victor will also be crowned.
Stage 1, Wednesday 4th February, Segorbe – Torreblanca, 160km
The opening stage focusses on the province of Castellón. The profile isn’t too testing, but there are a few bumps towards its conclusion. Nevertheless, the sprinters should have a chance to contest the victory along the coast in Torreblanca.
Stage 2, Thursday 5th February, Carlet – Alginet, 17km (ITT)
For the first time since 2019, the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana includes an individual time-trial. For the occasion, the race organisers have thrown in a 17km race against the clock with a meaty climb halfway through in the form of Els Llacs (3.1km at 3.6%). The descent is quite steep, so riders will be pushing 60kmh through the final third as they approach Alginet, a rice farming town just to the south of Valencia.
Stage 3, Friday 6th February, Orihuela – San Vicente del Raspeig, 158km
Stage 3 is the most southerly in this year’s edition, starting close to the city of Murcia. Most of the stage follows the coast, via Alicante, before a big crescendo at the Alto de Tibi (7.5km at 5.0%). There’s a pair of bonus second sprints around the summit before the peloton dives down towards a technical approach to the line in Sant Vincent de Raspeig.
Stage 4, Saturday 7th February, La Nucía – Teulada Moraira, 172km
Much of the peloton will know the roads of Stage 4 by heart, given that most of their winter training camps took place here on the Costa Blanca. It opens with the Coll de Rates, albeit from the reverse side to the one that sees a fierce Strava KOM battle, then a second kicker up the steep Alto Miserat (5.4km at 9.7%).
The long descent from there will send them onto familiar training roads around Calpe, including the Poggio-like Fustera (1.8km at 8.2%) at 30km to go. Riders are then offered two bonus second sprints, the second on top of the steep Puig de la Llorença (2.3km at 9.4%), which could act as a launchpad ahead of the false-flat finish in Teulada.
Stage 5, Sunday 8th February, Bétera – Valencia, 94.7km
The final stage is short but definitely not sweet. There are two climbs on offer during the first hour or so of racing, both in the Serra Calderona just to the north of Valencia. From the summit of the Port de Gabrí, the riders will be sent onto a fast descent towards the regional capital, where the stage winner will be crowned by the city’s marina.
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2026 favourites
Maximilian Fries / Red Bull Content Pool
After a scintillating week in Mallorca, which saw Remco Evenepoel claim three wins in as many days, the Belgian will start as the clear favourite here. The time-trial favours the Olympic and World Champion, but Evenepoel could also use Stage 4 as a chance to unleash one of his signature long-range moves. To boot, he’s also spent the past few weeks training on the roads around the Costa Blanca, so he may have an advantage when it comes to the decisive stages on days three and four.
Otherwise, he’ll be up against last year’s runner-up João Almeida. The Portuguese rider finished on the podium of every stage race he entered in 2025, and he’ll be motivated to add this important early-season test to his palmarès. Likewise, Antonio Tiberi will be holding down the fort at Bahrain Victorious, who took a first and third place finish at last year’s race. The Italian is racing a bullish programme in 2026, which focusses on a Tour de France debut in July, so he should be an important player throughout the week, especially with a time-trial in play.
Looking further down the startlist, Cian Uijtdebroeks will make his debut in Movistar colours here as he also gears up for a Tour bid, while youngster Guilio Pellizzari provides another string in Red Bull’s bow on the lumpier profiles. Given this race’s February slot though, expect some surprise results in the top ten overall.
Cyclist‘s ratings
★★★★★: Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe),
★★★★: João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates XRG), Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious)
★★★: Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar), Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious), Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
★★: Stef Cras (Soudal-QuickStep), Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek)
★: Pablo Castrillo (Movistar), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates XRG), Mattias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
How to watch Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2026
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
Viewers in the UK can only watch the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana on TNT Sports, which is available to stream through Discovery+. At least an hour of each stage will be aired on TV, apart from Stage 4, which, due to the Winter Olympics, won’t be shown live on TV. Highlights can be found at 21:30 GMT instead, if you want to catch up during the evening on TNT Sports 1.
Elsewhere, FloBikes has the coverage across Canada, while most of Europe will be able to tune in via Eurosport or its streaming services Discovery+ or HBO Max. For free-to-air coverage in Spain, all five stages will be broadcast on RTVE.
If the race isn’t being broadcast in your country, or you are travelling abroad, a VPN will allow you to hide your device’s location to access content that is normally geo-blocked.
UK TV times
Stage 1, Wednesday 4th February
TNT Sports 3: 15:00–16:00
Discovery+: 14:30–16:00
Stage 2, Thursday 5th February
TNT Sports 3: 14:30–16:00
Discovery+: TBC
Stage 3, Friday 6th February
TNT Sports 3: 14:30–16:00
Discovery+: TBC
Stage 4, Saturday 7th February
TNT Sports 1: 21:30–22:30 (post-race highlights)
Discovery+: TBC
Stage 5, Sunday 8th February
TNT Sports 3: 15:00–16:15
Discovery+: TBC
International broadcasters
Canada: FloBikes
Europe: Eurosport (not UK)
Spain: RTVE, Eurosport
United Kingdom: TNT Sports
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2026 startlist
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
