2026 Vuelta a Andalucia - Ruta Ciclista del Sol (2.Pro), Spain

72nd edition: February 18 - 22, 2026
Complete results

Vuelta a Andalucia podium history | 2024 edition | Start list
Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5

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Sunday, February 21: 5th & Final Stage, La Roda de Andalucia - Lucena, 167.8 km

Stage 5 map & profile | Stage 5 photos

Tom Pidcock wins stage five. Sirotti photo

Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2021: The Little Cannibal Dominates is available in both Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Weather at the finish city of Lucena at 2:05 PM, local time: 21C (69F), sunny, with the wind from the west-southwest at 3 km/hr (2 mph). No rain is forecast.

The race: Here's the race organizer's stage five report.

The Valladolid native, Iván Romeo, secured his first overall stage win in the Vuelta a Andalucía – Ruta del Sol, on a final day where Tom Pidcock took the stage victory.

There were no surprises despite the fierce battle to unseat Romeo at the end of the stage finishing in Lucena, and the new jewel of Spanish cycling delivered a masterclass to claim his first stage race victory.

The stage started in La Roda de Andalucía and featured a breakaway formed by Johansen (UAD), Vader (RBH), and Hoelgaard (UXM), who shared the intermediate sprint points. They built a lead of over 2 minutes and 35 seconds on a peloton that was eager to tackle the day's two climbs with a chance to fight for both the stage win and the overall classification.

On the early slopes of the Alto de la Primera Espada, very close to the finish, the breakaway was caught. Then the battle for bonus seconds began. Iván Cobo crested the summit first, earning a 3-second bonus, followed by Álex Aranburu and José Manuel Díaz, the latter also securing the victory for his teammate Josh Burnett in the mountains classification. On the descent, the points classification leader and winner of the Pizarra stage, Christophe Laporte, suffered a crash that forced him to abandon the race, leaving his green jersey hopes hanging in the balance.

After a very fast descent, the peloton tackled the final climb of the day. Despite attempts to surprise Iván Romeo, the young rider from Valladolid focused on keeping an eye on his main rival, Andreas Leknessund. It was then that Tom Pidcock launched an attack that took him solo to the finish line. Jan Christen tried to chase him down, but the Briton raised his arms in victory to claim the stage win and third place overall, matching his result from last year.

In the fight for the overall lead, Romeo finished alongside Leknessund, thus maintaining without problems the seven-second advantage with which he had started the day.

Complete results:

Stage 5 photos

167.8 kilometers raced at an average speed of 44.973 km/hr

1	Tom Pidcock	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	3hr 43min 52sec
2	Jan Christen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	@ 10sec
3	Romain Grégoire	Groupama-FDJ United	0:12
4	Alex Aranburu	Cofidis	s.t.
5	Aleksandr Vlasov	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
6	Iván Romeo	Movistar Team	s.t.
7	Andreas Leknessund	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
8	Clément Braz Afonso	Groupama-FDJ United	0:14
9	Tim Wellens	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	0:21
10	Axel Zingle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	0:31
11	Bastien Tronchon	Groupama-FDJ United	0:32
12	Mattéo Vercher	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
13	Alessandro Fancellu	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
14	Jon Barrenetxea	Movistar Team	s.t.
15	Johannes Kulset	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
16	Gotzon Martín	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
17	Adrien Boichis	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
18	Jesus Herrada	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
19	Torstein Træen	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
20	Sergio Chumil	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
21	Ion Izagirre	Cofidis	s.t.
22	Lorenzo Nespoli	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
23	Ander Okamika	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
24	Juan Pedro Lopez	Movistar Team	s.t.
25	Jefferson Cepeda	Movistar Team	s.t.
26	Senne Thonnon	Team Flanders-Baloise	0:44
27	Rayan Boulahoite	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
28	Marcin Budzinski	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
29	Jose Manuel Diaz	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
30	Mario Aparicio	Burgos Burpellet BH	0:47
31	Ivan Cobo	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
32	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
33	Joan Bou	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
34	Matisse Van Kerckhove	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
35	Jon Agirre	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
36	Luca Cretti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
37	Juan Diego Quintero	Petrolike	@ 32sec
38	Kieran Haug	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	1:12
39	Ben Oliver	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	1:24
40	Mikel Bizkarra	Euskaltel-Euskadi	1:31
41	Sergi Darder	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	1:54
42	Valentin Madouas	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
43	Fred Wright	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	2:20
44	Luke Tuckwell	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
45	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
46	Marton Dina	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
47	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	@ 44sec
48	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	3:11
49	Sylvain Moniquet	Cofidis	s.t.
50	Brent Van Moer	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	3:13
51	Xandro Meurisse	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
52	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	3:17
53	Victor Campenaerts	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
54	Michiel Lambrecht	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
55	Sven Erik Bystrøm	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
56	Benoît Cosnefroy	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
57	Alan Jousseaume	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
58	Gari Ugarte	Euskaltel-Euskadi	3:46
59	Pavel Sivakov	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	4:13
60	Jorge Arcas	Movistar Team	s.t.
61	Ellande Larronde	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	6:23
62	Michael Zarate Animas	Petrolike	s.t.
63	Julius Johansen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
64	Jose Maria Martin	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
65	Clément Russo	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
66	Markus Hoelgaard	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
67	Josh Burnett	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
68	Matteo Ambrosini	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
69	Geoffrey Bouchard	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
70	Frederik Wandahl	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
71	Nil Gimeno	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
72	Ibai Azanza	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
73	Lucas Towers	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
74	Samuel Florez	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
75	Giosue Epis	Petrolike	s.t.
76	Nicolas Alustiza	Euskaltel-Euskadi	6:28
77	Milan Vader	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	7:21
78	Milan Lanhove	Team Flanders-Baloise	7:36
79	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
80	Nicolò Buratti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	7:42
81	Orluis Aular	Movistar Team	7:48
82	Søren Wærenskjold	Uno-X Mobility	7:50
83	Filippo Fiorelli	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	9:42
84	Filip Maciejuk	Movistar Team	s.t.
85	Loe van Belle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
86	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
87	Fernando Gaviria	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
88	Javier Ibanez	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
89	Paul Penhoët	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
90	Milan Fretin	Cofidis	s.t.
91	Alex Kirsch	Cofidis	s.t.
92	Georgios Boúglas	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
93	Will Smith	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
94	Jose Antonio Prieto	Petrolike	s.t.
95	Domen Novak	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
96	Iker Gomez	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
97	Alexander Kamp	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
98	Mathieu Burgaudeau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
99	Piet Allegaert	Cofidis	6:45
100	Romet Pajur	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	9:55

 

Final GC after stage 5:

• GC winner: Iván Romeo (Movistar)
• Mountains classification winner: Josh Burnett (Burgos Burpellet BH)
• Points classification winner: Alex Aranburu (Cofidis)
• Best young rider: Jan Christian (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
• Teams classification winner: Movistar

803.4 kilometers raced at an average speed of 42.766 km/hr

1	Iván Romeo	Movistar Team	18hr 47min 10sec
2	Andreas Leknessund	Uno-X Mobility	@ 7sec
3	Tom Pidcock	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:27
4	Jan Christen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	0:44
5	Romain Grégoire	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
6	Alex Aranburu	Cofidis	0:51
7	Aleksandr Vlasov	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	0:54
8	Clément Braz Afonso	Groupama-FDJ United	0:56
9	Tim Wellens	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	1:03
10	Jon Barrenetxea	Movistar Team	1:11
11	Johannes Kulset	Uno-X Mobility	1:12
12	Torstein Træen	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
13	Bastien Tronchon	Groupama-FDJ United	1:14
14	Gotzon Martín	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
15	Adrien Boichis	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
16	Alessandro Fancellu	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
17	Sergio Chumil	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
18	Lorenzo Nespoli	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
19	Jefferson Cepeda	Movistar Team	s.t.
20	Jesus Herrada	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
21	Mattéo Vercher	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
22	Ander Okamika	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
23	Jose Manuel Diaz	Burgos Burpellet BH	1:25
24	Axel Zingle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	1:26
25	Senne Thonnon	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
26	Rayan Boulahoite	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
27	Ivan Cobo	Equipo Kern Pharma	1:27
28	Ion Izagirre	Cofidis	s.t.
29	Juan Pedro Lopez	Movistar Team	s.t.
30	Luca Cretti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	1:29
31	Mario Aparicio	Burgos Burpellet BH	1:59
32	Mikel Bizkarra	Euskaltel-Euskadi	2:26
33	Fred Wright	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	3:01
34	Juan Diego Quintero	Petrolike	3:34
35	Sylvain Moniquet	Cofidis	4:06
36	Pavel Sivakov	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	4:55
37	Benoît Cosnefroy	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	9:17
38	Brent Van Moer	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	9:26
39	Geoffrey Bouchard	Team TotalEnergies	9:38
40	Matisse Van Kerckhove	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	9:39
41	Sven Erik Bystrøm	Uno-X Mobility	9:51
42	Xandro Meurisse	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	10:12
43	Mathieu Burgaudeau	Team TotalEnergies	10:24
44	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	11:13
45	Jon Agirre	Euskaltel-Euskadi	11:17
46	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	11:27
47	Marcin Budzinski	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
48	Joan Bou	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	11:30
49	Luke Tuckwell	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	11:33
50	Valentin Madouas	Groupama-FDJ United	12:37
51	Marton Dina	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	13:03
52	Michiel Lambrecht	Team Flanders-Baloise	13:47
53	Josh Burnett	Burgos Burpellet BH	14:53
54	Ben Oliver	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	15:10
55	Kieran Haug	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	15:11
56	Victor Campenaerts	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	15:20
57	Sergi Darder	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	15:40
58	Jorge Arcas	Movistar Team	16:08
59	Samuel Florez	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	17:04
60	Markus Hoelgaard	Uno-X Mobility	17:06
61	Milan Vader	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	17:54
62	Alan Jousseaume	Team TotalEnergies	18:09
63	Clément Russo	Groupama-FDJ United	20:09
64	Lucas Towers	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	20:47
65	Nicolò Buratti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	21:28
66	Milan Lanhove	Team Flanders-Baloise	21:46
67	Søren Wærenskjold	Uno-X Mobility	22:28
68	Orluis Aular	Movistar Team	22:43
69	Julius Johansen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	22:56
70	Ibai Azanza	Equipo Kern Pharma	23:52
71	Nicolas Alustiza	Euskaltel-Euskadi	23:55
72	Filippo Fiorelli	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	24:39
73	Loe van Belle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	24:50
74	Will Smith	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	27:07
75	Jose Maria Martin	Equipo Kern Pharma	27:25
76	Frederik Wandahl	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	28:57
77	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	29:40
78	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	30:30
79	Matteo Ambrosini	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	31:55
80	Gari Ugarte	Euskaltel-Euskadi	32:40
81	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	32:55
82	Alex Kirsch	Cofidis	34:15
83	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	35:46
84	Jose Antonio Prieto	Petrolike	38:08
85	Domen Novak	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	38:48
86	Iker Gomez	Equipo Kern Pharma	39:57
87	Giosue Epis	Petrolike	40:19
88	Michael Zarate Animas	Petrolike	41:59
89	Milan Fretin	Cofidis	42:07
90	Ellande Larronde	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	42:12
91	Filip Maciejuk	Movistar Team	s.t.
92	Romet Pajur	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	42:30
93	Piet Allegaert	Cofidis	42:55
94	Nil Gimeno	Equipo Kern Pharma	43:00
95	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	44:40
96	Paul Penhoët	Groupama-FDJ United	44:59
97	Georgios Boúglas	Burgos Burpellet BH	45:05
98	Fernando Gaviria	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	47:09
99	Javier Ibanez	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	47:21
100	Alexander Kamp	Uno-X Mobility	49:33

 

Stage 5 map & profile:

Stage 5 map

Stage 5 profile

Stage 5 photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti:

Looks like a nice day to be bike riding in southern Spain.

GC leader Ivan Romeo (yellow jersey) safely buried in the pack with teammates front and back of him.

Tom Pidcock look back to see how far back his chasers are.

Jan Christen finishes second.

Romain Grégoire finishes third.

Ivan Romeo with teammates just after the stage finished

Just after the stage finished, Jan Christen (left, 2nd place) & Tom Pidcock (right, 1st place).

The GC podium, from left: Andreas Leknessund (2nd), Ivan Romeo (1st), & Tom Pidcock (3rd)

2026 Ruta del Sol winner Ivan Romeo

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Saturday, February 20: Stage 4, Montoro - Pozoblanco, 166 km

Stage 4 map & profile | Stage 4 photos

Tom Crabbe is the day's fastest rider. Getty photo

Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 2: 1976 - 2018 is available in print, Kindle eBook & Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Weather at the finish city of Pozoblanco at 2:00 PM, local time: 18C (65F), sunny, with the wind from the east at 5 km/hr (3 mph). No rain is forecast.

The race: Here's the race organizer's stage four report.

The young Belgian rider Tom Crabbe from the modest Flanders-Baloise team outpaced the sprinters of the Ruta del Sol on a day when the favorites tried to gain time on leader Iván Romeo.

The province of Córdoba hosted the penultimate stage of the Vuelta a Andalucía, which started in Montoro and finished in Pozoblanco, with the Valle de los Pedroches taking center stage.

It was a very fast stage in which, as on the previous day, the decisive breakaway formed almost immediately after the start. The three protagonists of the day were Nil Gimeno (EKP), Luca Cretti (MBH), and Geoffrey Bouchard (TEN), who at one point held a lead of over two minutes. On the day's only climb, the second-category Alto de Españares, the three escapees crested the summit first; Bouchard was first, Gimeno second, Cretti third, and fourth was the leader of the mountains classification, Josh Burnett (BBH), who secured his lead in that classification for another day.

Everything else was controlled by Cofidis and Groupama-FDJ, who kept the breakaway in their sights. At the intermediate sprint in Villanueva de Córdoba, the order was Bouchard, Gimeno, and Cretti.

The first to be dropped was the Spaniard Gimeno, leaving his two companions at the mercy of the peloton. On the first passage through the finish line, where the second intermediate sprint of the day was located, Bouchard again crossed first; second was the Italian Cretti, and third, leading the peloton, was Olympic medalist Valentin Madouas (GFJ).

There was no more time for the adventure duo: the three sprints of the Golden Kilometer were approaching, and it was time for the GC contenders and Movistar Team's tactics to defend the yellow jersey.

In the first sprint, the Movistar Team placed Jon Barrenerxea at the front to prevent his GC rivals from gaining time. Frenchman Romain Gregoire (GFJ) followed the Spaniard, crossing the line ahead of Alfred Wright (PQT). In the second sprint, Sven Bystrøm (UXM) was the fastest, followed by Johannes Kulset (UXM) and Tom Pidcock (PQT). And in the third and final sprint, Gregoire again took the lead, followed by Torstein Træen (UXM) and Pidcock. The British champion thus cut two seconds off the leader, Romeo.

The stage culminated in a decisive attack. Belgian Tim Wellems (UAD), along with Christophe Laporte (TVL) and Marcin Budzinski (MBH), launched an attack that forced the sprinters' teams to make an extra effort to reel them in, which they ultimately did. In the decisive sprint, young Belgian Tom Crabbe (TFB) emerged victorious ahead of Søren Wærenskjold (UXM) and Sandy Dujardin (TEN). Spaniard Alex Aramburu finished fourth.

Iván Romeo (MOV) retains the overall lead with a 7-second advantage over Andreas Leknessund (UXM) and a 49-second lead over Frenchman Grégoire. Laporte is 50 seconds behind, Pidcock 52 seconds, and Aramburu 54 seconds, giving the other favorites time.

In the mountains classification, Josh Burnett of Burgos BH continues to lead, extending his points advantage over his rivals. Laporte (TVL) remains the points leader, while the Frenchman Bouchard is the new leader in the intermediate sprints. The highest-placed Andalusian in the general classification is José Manuel Díaz Gallego (BBH), and the best young rider is Johannes Pulset (UXM).

Tomorrow, the final stage takes place in Lucena with two consecutive climbs on the circuit around the town, which are sure to be decisive for the end of this crucial battle.

Complete results:

Stage 4 photos

166 km raced at an average speed of 43.298 km/hr

1	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	3hr 50min 2sec
2	Søren Wærenskjold	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
3	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
4	Alex Aranburu	Cofidis	s.t.
5	Christophe Laporte	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
6	Axel Zingle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
7	Nicolò Buratti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
8	Orluis Aular	Movistar Team	s.t.
9	Fred Wright	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
10	Paul Penhoët	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
11	Romet Pajur	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
12	Ben Oliver	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
13	Fernando Gaviria	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
14	Sergi Darder	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
15	Giosue Epis	Petrolike	s.t.
16	Gari Ugarte	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
17	Milan Fretin	Cofidis	s.t.
18	Georgios Boúglas	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
19	Lorenzo Nespoli	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
20	Mathieu Burgaudeau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
21	Jon Barrenetxea	Movistar Team	s.t.
22	Piet Allegaert	Cofidis	s.t.
23	Jose Maria Martin	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
24	Gotzon Martín	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
25	Adrien Boichis	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
26	Bastien Tronchon	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
27	Antonio Prieto Jose	Petrolike	s.t.
28	Filippo Fiorelli	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
29	Jan Christen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
30	Clément Braz Afonso	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
31	Sergio Chumil	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
32	Johannes Kulset	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
33	Brent Van Moer	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
34	Javier Ibanez	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
35	Aleksandr Vlasov	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
36	Romain Grégoire	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
37	Benoît Cosnefroy	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
38	Andreas Leknessund	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
39	Ellande Larronde	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
40	Jesus Herrada	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
41	Torstein Træen	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
42	Tom Pidcock	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
43	Jefferson Cepeda	Movistar Team	s.t.
44	Clément Russo	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
45	Jose Manuel Diaz	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
46	Senne Thonnon	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
47	Tim Wellens	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
48	Rayan Boulahoite	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
49	Alessandro Fancellu	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
50	Mario Aparicio	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
51	Iván Romeo	Movistar Team	s.t.
52	Jon Agirre	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
53	Mattéo Vercher	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
54	Michiel Lambrecht	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
55	Ivan Cobo	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
56	Luca Cretti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
57	Marcin Budzinski	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
58	Ander Okamika	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
59	Milan Lanhove	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
60	Pavel Sivakov	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
61	Joan Bou	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
62	Kieran Haug	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
63	Milan Vader	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
64	Sylvain Moniquet	Cofidis	s.t.
65	Iker Gomez	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
66	Mikel Bizkarra	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
67	Juan Pedro Lopez	Movistar Team	s.t.
68	Alexander Hajek	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
69	Alan Jousseaume	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
70	Frederik Wandahl	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
71	Michael Zarate Animas	Petrolike	s.t.
72	Lucas Towers	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
73	Josh Burnett	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
74	Samuel Florez	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
75	Juan Diego Quintero	Petrolike	s.t.
76	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
77	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
78	Luke Tuckwell	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
79	Marton Dina	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
80	Matteo Ambrosini	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
81	Ion Izagirre	Cofidis	s.t.
82	Nicolas Alustiza	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
83	Valentin Madouas	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
84	Filip Maciejuk	Movistar Team	s.t.
85	Geoffrey Bouchard	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
86	Erik Bystrøm Sven	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
87	Matisse Van Kerckhove	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
88	Loe van Belle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
89	Markus Hoelgaard	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
90	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	@ 21sec
91	Xandro Meurisse	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
92	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	0:25
93	Will Smith	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
94	Alex Kirsch	Cofidis	0:27
95	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:31
96	Domen Novak	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	0:35
97	Julius Johansen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	0:37
98	Jorge Arcas	Movistar Team	0:43
99	Victor Campenaerts	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	1:25
100	Alexander Kamp	Uno-X Mobility	1:26
101	Ibai Azanza	Equipo Kern Pharma	3:24
102	Nil Gimeno	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.

 

GC after stage 4:

• GC leader: Iván Romeo (Movistar)
• Mountains classification leader: Josh Burnett (Burgos Burpellet BH)
• Points classification leader: Christophe Laporte (Visma | Lease a Bike)
• Best young rider: Johannes Kulset (Uno-X Mobility)
• Teams classification leader: Movistar

635.6 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 42.228 km/hr

1	Iván Romeo	Movistar Team	15hr 3min 6sec
2	Andreas Leknessund	Uno-X Mobility	@ 7sec
3	Romain Grégoire	Groupama-FDJ United	0:49
4	Christophe Laporte	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	0:50
5	Jon Barrenetxea	Movistar Team	0:51
6	Tom Pidcock	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:52
7	Johannes Kulset	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
8	Torstein Træen	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
9	Fred Wright	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:53
10	Alex Aranburu	Cofidis	0:54
11	Bastien Tronchon	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
12	Gotzon Martín	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
13	Adrien Boichis	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
14	Aleksandr Vlasov	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
15	Mathieu Burgaudeau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
16	Alessandro Fancellu	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
17	Jan Christen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
18	Sergio Chumil	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
19	Ivan Cobo	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
20	Lorenzo Nespoli	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
21	Senne Thonnon	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
22	Jose Manuel Diaz	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
23	Rayan Boulahoite	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
24	Tim Wellens	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
25	Jefferson Cepeda	Movistar Team	s.t.
26	Clément Braz Afonso	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
27	Jesus Herrada	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
28	Luca Cretti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
29	Pavel Sivakov	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
30	Mattéo Vercher	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
31	Ander Okamika	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
32	Axel Zingle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	1:07
33	Ion Izagirre	Cofidis	s.t.
34	Juan Pedro Lopez	Movistar Team	s.t.
35	Mikel Bizkarra	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
36	Sylvain Moniquet	Cofidis	s.t.
37	Mario Aparicio	Burgos Burpellet BH	1:24
38	Juan Diego Quintero	Petrolike	3:14
39	Geoffrey Bouchard	Team TotalEnergies	3:27
40	Benoît Cosnefroy	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	6:12
41	Brent Van Moer	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	6:25
42	Erik Bystrøm Sven	Uno-X Mobility	6:46
43	Xandro Meurisse	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	7:11
44	Josh Burnett	Burgos Burpellet BH	8:42
45	Matisse Van Kerckhove	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	9:04
46	Luke Tuckwell	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	9:25
47	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	10:38
48	Michiel Lambrecht	Team Flanders-Baloise	10:42
49	Jon Agirre	Euskaltel-Euskadi	10:42
50	Milan Vader	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	10:45
51	Samuel Florez	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	10:53
52	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	10:55
53	Marcin Budzinski	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
54	Joan Bou	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
55	Valentin Madouas	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
56	Markus Hoelgaard	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
57	Marton Dina	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
58	Jorge Arcas	Movistar Team	12:07
59	Victor Campenaerts	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	12:15
60	Nicolò Buratti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	13:58
61	Ben Oliver	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
62	Sergi Darder	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
63	Clément Russo	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
64	Kieran Haug	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	14:11
65	Milan Lanhove	Team Flanders-Baloise	14:22
66	Lucas Towers	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	14:36
67	Søren Wærenskjold	Uno-X Mobility	14:50
68	Alan Jousseaume	Team TotalEnergies	15:04
69	Orluis Aular	Movistar Team	15:07
70	Filippo Fiorelli	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	15:09
71	Loe van Belle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	15:20
72	Julius Johansen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	16:45
73	Will Smith	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	17:37
74	Nicolas Alustiza	Euskaltel-Euskadi	17:39
75	Ibai Azanza	Equipo Kern Pharma	17:41
76	Alexander Hajek	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	21:00
77	Jose Maria Martin	Equipo Kern Pharma	21:14
78	Frederik Wandahl	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	22:46
79	Alex Kirsch	Cofidis	24:45
80	Matteo Ambrosini	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	25:44
81	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	26:16
82	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	26:41
83	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	28:22
84	Jose Antonio Prieto	Petrolike	28:38
85	Gari Ugarte	Euskaltel-Euskadi	29:06
86	Domen Novak	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	29:18
87	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	29:50
88	Iker Gomez	Equipo Kern Pharma	30:27
89	Milan Fretin	Cofidis	32:37
90	Filip Maciejuk	Movistar Team	32:42
91	Romet Pajur	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	32:47
92	Giosue Epis	Petrolike	34:08
93	Paul Penhoët	Groupama-FDJ United	35:29
94	Georgios Boúglas	Burgos Burpellet BH	35:35
95	Michael Zarate Animas	Petrolike	35:48
96	Ellande Larronde	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	36:01
97	Piet Allegaert	Cofidis	36:22
98	Nil Gimeno	Equipo Kern Pharma	36:49
99	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	37:16
100	Fernando Gaviria	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	37:39
101	Javier Ibanez	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	37:51
102	Alexander Kamp	Uno-X Mobility	40:03

 

Stage 4 map & profile:

Stage 4 map

Stage 4 profile

Stage 4 photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti:

MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort team heads to the start.

GC leader Ivan Romeo before the stage start.

Some of the Team Visma | Lease a Bike fleet.

Aleksandr Vlasov before the stage

Points classification leader Christophe Laporte.

The peloton rounds a curve.

Here they come for the sprint.

A happy Tom Crabbe wins the stage.

Stage winner Tom Crabbe

Ivan Romeo will start stage five in yellow.

---

Friday, September 19: Stage 3: Jaén - Lopera, 180.9 km

Stage 3 map & profile | Stage 3 photos

Milan Fretin (on left) wins stage three. Getty Images

Les Woodland's book Tour of Flanders: The Inside Story - The rocky roads of the Ronde van Vlaanderen is available in print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Weather at the finish city of Lopera at 2:20 PM, local time: 16C (60F), sunny, with the wind from the east-northeast at 13 km/hr (8 mph). No rain is forecast.

The race: Here's the report from stage winner Milan Fretin's Team Cofidis.

He had come so close to victory so many times this season that this win, achieved under the Andalusian sun, is even sweeter. Milan Fretin finished second in the first stage of the AlUla Tour, then in the Clásica de Almería. This time, it was his turn to shine. After a particularly well-managed team effort between Jaén and Lopera (180.9 km), the Belgian rider positioned himself well at the end of the stage.

Already a second win for Cofidis
On a steep finish and narrow road, it took a particularly clever rider to fight his way to victory. Facing him, Paul Penhoet and Christophe Laporte gave it their all before conceding at the line. Milan then let his joy explode before being congratulated by all his teammates. Among them was Alex Aranburu, who took 6th place, having already finished 3rd yesterday.

Milan thus gave Cofidis its second victory of the season, just 20 days after Bryan Coquard's win at the GP de la Marseillaise. The Belgian sprinter continues to go from strength to strength, having won six times in his professional career. He confirms the Cofidis team's outstanding form at the start of the season. And the year has only just begun! 

The reactions
Milan Fretin: "It's not easy. I turned the last 500 meters. I think I turned in the fifth position. I lost a little bit my momentum, a little bit the speed. So at the end it was a really close one but I'm super happy I take the victory. For a moment I thought I was beaten because I lost all my momentum on the right side. But the last 80 meters I think I was the strongest and I hold on the longest. So that's how it was to win.  I’m super happy. The first victory of the season. So it's an important one to take the victory.

"It confirms that the shape is really good. Training camp together with Alex Kish and I think I did a little bit on my shape as well. So, yeah, of course, the first two days here were very hard with the big, big mountains. It was an hour of climbs every time. Today was an opportunity, but still it was a very hard stage. And then tomorrow will be another opportunity for me. So let's focus.

"The season that we had, we also ride different. We really show that we are not scared of the other teams. And also today we controlled the race. And this we want to show everybody that we made a difference in the team. And I think we, yeah, for now we're doing everything perfect."

Bingen Fernandez: "We set off with the idea of sprinting to the finish and trying to win with Milan Fretin. We were filtering the breakaways. Once the breakaway got away, we put Dylan Teuns to work with Uno-X Mobility and Team Visma

Complete Results:

Stage 3 photos

180.9 kilometers raced at an average speed of 43.206 km/ht

1	Milan Fretin	Cofidis	4hr 11min 13sec
2	Paul Penhoët	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
3	Christophe Laporte	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
4	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
5	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
6	Alex Aranburu	Cofidis	s.t.
7	Nicolò Buratti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
8	Tom Pidcock	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
9	Jon Barrenetxea	Movistar Team	s.t.
10	Fernando Gaviria	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
11	Axel Zingle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
12	Sergi Darder	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
13	Gotzon Martín	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
14	Orluis Aular	Movistar Team	s.t.
15	Benoît Cosnefroy	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
16	Alessandro Fancellu	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
17	Fred Wright	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
18	Ben Oliver	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
19	Adrien Boichis	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
20	Ivan Cobo	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
21	Søren Wærenskjold	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
22	Gari Ugarte	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
23	Sergio Chumil	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
24	Aleksandr Vlasov	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
25	Bastien Tronchon	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
26	Clément Russo	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
27	Mathieu Burgaudeau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
28	Jose Antonio Prieto	Petrolike	s.t.
29	Lorenzo Nespoli	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
30	Jan Christen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
31	Iván Romeo	Movistar Team	s.t.
32	Jefferson Cepeda	Movistar Team	s.t.
33	Romain Grégoire	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
34	Jose Manuel Diaz	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
35	Georgios Boúglas	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
36	Senne Thonnon	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
37	Clément Braz Afonso	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
38	Jesus Herrada	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
39	Mattéo Vercher	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
40	Torstein Træen	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
41	Andreas Leknessund	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
42	Johannes Kulset	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
43	Romet Pajur	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
44	Juan Diego Quintero	Petrolike	s.t.
45	Michiel Lambrecht	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
46	Jon Agirre	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
47	Tim Wellens	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
48	Pavel Sivakov	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
49	Luca Cretti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
50	Ander Okamika	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
51	Rayan Boulahoite	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
52	Mario Aparicio	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
53	Brent Van Moer	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	@ 13sec
54	Samuel Florez	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
55	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
56	Marcin Budzinski	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
57	Juan Pedro Lopez	Movistar Team	s.t.
58	Markus Hoelgaard	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
59	Valentin Madouas	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
60	Marton Dina	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
61	Alexander Hajek	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
62	Ion Izagirre	Cofidis	s.t.
63	Mikel Bizkarra	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
64	Michael Zarate Animas	Petrolike	s.t.
65	Sylvain Moniquet	Cofidis	s.t.
66	José Félix Parra	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
67	Geoffrey Bouchard	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
68	Kieran Haug	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
69	Joan Bou	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
70	Luke Tuckwell	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
71	Milan Lanhove	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
72	Javier Ibanez	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	0:19
73	Frederik Wandahl	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	0:30
74	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	s.t.
75	Filippo Fiorelli	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	0:36
76	Nil Gimeno	Equipo Kern Pharma	0:38
77	Matteo Ambrosini	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
78	Xandro Meurisse	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
79	Lucas Towers	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	0:39
80	Jorge Arcas	Movistar Team	0:42
81	Piet Allegaert	Cofidis	0:47
82	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	0:57
83	Loe van Belle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	1:06
84	Alan Jousseaume	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
85	Milan Vader	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	1:18
86	Matisse Van Kerckhove	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	1:21
87	Victor Campenaerts	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
88	Giosue Epis	Petrolike	s.t.
89	Iker Gomez	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
90	Domen Novak	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	1:41
91	Alex Kirsch	Cofidis	1:44
92	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	1:59
93	Filip Maciejuk	Movistar Team	s.t.
94	Josh Burnett	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
95	Julius Johansen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	2:10
96	Ellande Larronde	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
97	Ibai Azanza	Equipo Kern Pharma	3:35
98	Jose Maria Martin	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
99	Sven Erik Bystrøm	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
100	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
101	Alexander Kamp	Uno-X Mobility	5:50
102	Will Smith	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	6:30
103	Pablo Carrascosa	Equipo Kern Pharma	6:53
104	Nicolas Alustiza	Euskaltel-Euskadi	6:58

 

GC after stage 3:

• GC leader: Iván Romeo (Movistar)
• Mountains classification leader: Josh Burnett (Burgos Burpellet BH)
• Points classification leader: Christophe Laporte (Visma | Lease a Bike)
• Best young rider: Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
• Teams classification leader: Movistar

469.6 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 41.862 km/hr

1	Iván Romeo	Movistar Team	11hr 13min 4sec
2	Andreas Leknessund	Uno-X Mobility	@ 7sec
3	Christophe Laporte	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	0:50
4	Alex Aranburu	Cofidis	0:54
5	Fred Wright	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
6	Jon Barrenetxea	Movistar Team	s.t.
7	Alessandro Fancellu	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
8	Bastien Tronchon	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
9	Aleksandr Vlasov	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
10	Gotzon Martín	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
11	Adrien Boichis	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
12	Ivan Cobo	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
13	Mathieu Burgaudeau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
14	Jan Christen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
15	Tom Pidcock	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
16	Senne Thonnon	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
17	Sergio Chumil	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
18	Jose Manuel Diaz	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
19	Rayan Boulahoite	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
20	Romain Grégoire	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
21	Tim Wellens	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
22	Lorenzo Nespoli	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
23	Johannes Kulset	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
24	Jefferson Cepeda	Movistar Team	s.t.
25	Torstein Træen	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
26	Luca Cretti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
27	Jesus Herrada	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
28	Clément Braz Afonso	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
29	Pavel Sivakov	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
30	Mattéo Vercher	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
31	Ander Okamika	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
32	Ion Izagirre	Cofidis	1:07
33	Axel Zingle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
34	Juan Pedro Lopez	Movistar Team	s.t.
35	Mikel Bizkarra	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
36	Sylvain Moniquet	Cofidis	s.t.
37	Mario Aparicio	Burgos Burpellet BH	1:24
38	Juan Diego Quintero	Petrolike	3:14
39	Geoffrey Bouchard	Team TotalEnergies	3:27
40	Benoît Cosnefroy	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	6:12
41	Brent Van Moer	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	6:25
42	Erik Bystrøm Sven	Uno-X Mobility	6:49
43	Xandro Meurisse	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	6:50
44	Josh Burnett	Burgos Burpellet BH	8:42
45	Matisse Van Kerckhove	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	9:04
46	Luke Tuckwell	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	9:25
47	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	10:42
48	Michiel Lambrecht	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
49	Jon Agirre	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
50	Milan Vader	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	10:45
51	Victor Campenaerts	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	10:50
52	Samuel Florez	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	10:53
53	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	10:55
54	Markus Hoelgaard	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
55	Valentin Madouas	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
56	José Félix Parra	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
57	Joan Bou	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
58	Marcin Budzinski	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
59	Marton Dina	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
60	Jorge Arcas	Movistar Team	11:24
61	Nicolò Buratti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	13:58
62	Ben Oliver	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
63	Sergi Darder	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
64	Clément Russo	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
65	Kieran Haug	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	14:11
66	Ibai Azanza	Equipo Kern Pharma	14:17
67	Milan Lanhove	Team Flanders-Baloise	14:22
68	Lucas Towers	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	14:36
69	Søren Wærenskjold	Uno-X Mobility	14:56
70	Alan Jousseaume	Team TotalEnergies	15:04
71	Orluis Aular	Movistar Team	15:07
72	Filippo Fiorelli	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	15:09
73	Loe van Belle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	15:20
74	Julius Johansen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	16:08
75	Will Smith	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	17:12
76	Nicolas Alustiza	Euskaltel-Euskadi	17:39
77	Alexander Hajek	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	21:00
78	Jose Maria Martin	Equipo Kern Pharma	21:14
79	Frederik Wandahl	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	22:46
80	Alex Kirsch	Cofidis	24:18
81	Matteo Ambrosini	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	25:44
82	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	25:45
83	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	26:20
84	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	28:22
85	Jose Antonio Prieto	Petrolike	28:38
86	Domen Novak	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	28:43
87	Gari Ugarte	Euskaltel-Euskadi	29:06
88	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	29:25
89	Pablo Carrascosa	Equipo Kern Pharma	29:27
90	Iker Gomez	Equipo Kern Pharma	30:27
91	Milan Fretin	Cofidis	32:37
92	Filip Maciejuk	Movistar Team	32:42
93	Romet Pajur	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	32:47
94	Nil Gimeno	Equipo Kern Pharma	33:25
95	Giosue Epis	Petrolike	34:08
96	Paul Penhoët	Groupama-FDJ United	35:29
97	Georgios Boúglas	Burgos Burpellet BH	35:35
98	Michael Zarate Animas	Petrolike	35:48
99	Ellande Larronde	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	36:01
100	Piet Allegaert	Cofidis	36:22
101	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	37:26
102	Fernando Gaviria	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	37:39
103	Javier Ibanez	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	37:51
104	Alexander Kamp	Uno-X Mobility	38:37

 

Stage 3 map & profile:

Stage 3 map

Stage 3 profile

Stage 3 photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti:

Sirotti took several pictures of the peloton racing across the beautiful Andalucian countryside.

GC leader Ivan Romeo beaing guarded by his Movistar teammates.

Looks like there is some wind forcing the riders to echelon.

Plenty of hills in Andalucia

A couple of riders trying to escape on a hill.

Cofidis' Milan Fretin just beats Paul Penhoët (far right) and Christophe Laporte.

Stage winner Milan Fretin with a sign that translates to "Congratulations".

Points classification leader Christphe Laporte

Mountains classification leader Josh Burnett

Ivan Romeo will start stage four in yellow.

---

Thursday, September 19: Stage 2, Torrox - Otura, 138.6 km

Stage 2 map & profile

Ivan Romeo wins stage two and becomes the new GC leader. Sirotti photo

Bill McGann’s book Why Your Bike Is Made in Asia: My career in bicycles as I watched two continents squander an industry is available in print, Kindle eBook & Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Weather at the city of Jayena, on the route, at 2:15 PM, local time: 10C (50F), sunny, with the wind from the north-northwest at 19 km/hr (12 mph). No rain is forecast.

The race: Here's the report from stage winner and new GC leader Iván Romeo's Movistar team.

The Valladolid native, the Spanish champion, led the day's breakaway alongside Norwegian champion Andreas Leknessund (UXM), gaining a 54-second advantage over the peloton of favorites for the overall victory in the Vuelta Ciclista Andalucía.

The second stage of the Ruta del Sol Vuelta Ciclista Andalucía 2026 lived up to expectations and provided a great spectacle for cycling fans.

After the start in Torrox, the riders set a high pace before beginning the ascent of the Puerto de la Cabra, one of the main mountain challenges of the entire race, where attacks came thick and fast in search of the day's breakaway. It was precisely with this objective that a leading group formed, cresting the climb at the front: Iván Romeo (MOV), Andrés Leknessund (UXM), and Josh Burnett (BBH).

On the descent, they broke away and steadily increased their lead over the peloton. The trio split into pairs on the ascent of the Alto de la Malahá, and from then on, it was a close call. A head-to-head battle between the Norwegian and Spanish champions.

They worked together seamlessly to secure the stage victory and maintain their lead over their pursuers. Behind them, the peloton tried unsuccessfully to close the gap, led by Visma and Piranello.

As they crested the climb, Leknessun led, followed by Iván Romeo, who secured the King of the Mountains classification lead. Meanwhile, Sivakov (UAE) was giving the peloton time.

With only two kilometers to go, the rider from Valladolid launched a powerful attack that the UNO-X Mobility rider couldn't answer.

In the fight for the overall classification, the favorites were making their moves in the peloton. Vlasov tried his luck, taking Aramburu with him. Then, Tim Wellens (UAD), Jefferson Cepeda (MOV), and Thomas Pidcock (PQT) attacked in pursuit.

While the battle raged behind, Romeo was already raising his arms in victory at the finish line. Otura secured his first victory of the year with a double win, taking the overall lead, now 7 seconds ahead of Leknessund and 54 seconds ahead of the rest of the favorites.

In the day's secondary classifications, Iván Romeo also took the lead in the mountains classification, while simultaneously leading the Spanish classification, the mountains classification, and the intermediate sprints classification.

The highest-placed Andalusian in the general classification remains José Manuel Díaz Gallego (BBH). The best young rider is Rayan Boulahoite (TEN). And finally, Movistar Team takes the lead in the team classification.

Tomorrow, Friday, the third stage starts in Jaén and finishes in Lopera (Jaén), covering 180.9 km with a single category 3 climb, a day well-suited to sprinters.

Complete results:

138.6 kilometers raced at an average speed of 40.135 km/hr

1	Iván Romeo	Movistar Team	3hr 27min 12sec
2	Andreas Leknessund	Uno-X Mobility	@ 7sec
3	Alex Aranburu	Cofidis	0:54
4	Jan Christen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
5	Ivan Cobo	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
6	Alessandro Fancellu	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
7	Aleksandr Vlasov	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
8	Adrien Boichis	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
9	Tim Wellens	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
10	Romain Grégoire	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
11	Jefferson Cepeda	Movistar Team	s.t.
12	Rayan Boulahoite	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
13	Fred Wright	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
14	Ion Izagirre	Cofidis	s.t.
15	Juan Pedro Lopez	Movistar Team	s.t.
16	Tom Pidcock	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
17	Bastien Tronchon	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
18	Jose Manuel Diaz	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
19	Jon Barrenetxea	Movistar Team	s.t.
20	Torstein Træen	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
21	Christophe Laporte	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
22	Johannes Kulset	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
23	Mathieu Burgaudeau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
24	Gotzon Martín	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
25	Senne Thonnon	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
26	Luca Cretti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
27	Axel Zingle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
28	Jesus Herrada	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
29	Luke Tuckwell	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
30	Mattéo Vercher	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
31	Sergio Chumil	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
32	Lorenzo Nespoli	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
33	Clément Braz Afonso	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
34	Pavel Sivakov	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
35	Ander Okamika	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
36	Sylvain Moniquet	Cofidis	s.t.
37	Mikel Bizkarra	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
38	Mario Aparicio	Burgos Burpellet BH	1:24
39	Quinten Hermans	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	2:24
40	Juan Diego Quintero	Petrolike	s.t.
41	Erik Bystrøm Sven	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
42	Geoffrey Bouchard	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
43	Xandro Meurisse	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	6:12
44	Benoît Cosnefroy	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
45	Brent Van Moer	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
46	Matisse Van Kerckhove	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
47	Josh Burnett	Burgos Burpellet BH	6:46
48	Alex Kirsch	Cofidis	7:26
49	Pablo Carrascosa	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
50	Orluis Aular	Movistar Team	s.t.
51	Milan Vader	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	9:27
52	Victor Campenaerts	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	9:29
53	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
54	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	10:42
55	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
56	Michiel Lambrecht	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
57	Milan Lanhove	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
58	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
59	Markus Hoelgaard	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
60	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
61	Will Smith	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
62	Jose Antonio Prieto	Petrolike	s.t.
63	Jon Agirre	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
64	José Félix Parra	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
65	Samuel Florez	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
66	Marcin Budzinski	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
67	Nicolas Alustiza	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
68	Joan Bou	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
69	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	s.t.
70	Ibai Azanza	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
71	Valentin Madouas	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
72	Jorge Arcas	Movistar Team	s.t.
73	Marton Dina	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
74	Lucas Towers	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	13:57
75	Ben Oliver	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	13:58
76	Loe van Belle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
77	Nicolò Buratti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
78	Gari Ugarte	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
79	Sergi Darder	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
80	Filippo Fiorelli	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
81	Ellande Larronde	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
82	Julius Johansen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
83	Alan Jousseaume	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
84	Alexander Hajek	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
85	Kieran Haug	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
86	Clément Russo	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
87	Iker Gomez	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
88	Frederik Wandahl	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
89	Domen Novak	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
90	Søren Wærenskjold	Uno-X Mobility	14:56
91	Matteo Ambrosini	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	15:02
92	Georgios Boúglas	Burgos Burpellet BH	17:39
93	Filip Maciejuk	Movistar Team	s.t.
94	Jose Maria Martin	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
95	Romet Pajur	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
96	Paul Penhoët	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
97	Giosue Epis	Petrolike	s.t.
98	Michael Zarate Animas	Petrolike	s.t.
99	Piet Allegaert	Cofidis	s.t.
100	Milan Fretin	Cofidis	s.t.
101	Alexander Kamp	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
102	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
103	Javier Ibanez	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
104	Nil Gimeno	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
105	Fernando Gaviria	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	17:46
106	Joel Nicolau	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.

 

GC after stage 2:

• GC leader: Iván Romeo (Movistar)
• Mountains classification leader: Iván Romeo (Movistar)
• Points classification leader: Iván Romeo (Movistar)
• Best young rider: Rayan Boulahoite (TotalEnergies)
• Teams classification leader: Movistar

288.7 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 41.062 km/hr

1	Iván Romeo	Movistar Team	7hr 1min 51sec
2	Andreas Leknessund	Uno-X Mobility	@ 7sec
3	Fred Wright	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:54
4	Bastien Tronchon	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
5	Alex Aranburu	Cofidis	s.t.
6	Christophe Laporte	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
7	Aleksandr Vlasov	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
8	Alessandro Fancellu	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
9	Jon Barrenetxea	Movistar Team	s.t.
10	Adrien Boichis	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
11	Rayan Boulahoite	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
12	Ivan Cobo	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
13	Gotzon Martín	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
14	Tim Wellens	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
15	Mathieu Burgaudeau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
16	Senne Thonnon	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
17	Jan Christen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
18	Jose Manuel Diaz	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
19	Ion Izagirre	Cofidis	s.t.
20	Romain Grégoire	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
21	Sergio Chumil	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
22	Johannes Kulset	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
23	Torstein Træen	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
24	Luca Cretti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
25	Lorenzo Nespoli	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
26	Tom Pidcock	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
27	Jefferson Cepeda	Movistar Team	s.t.
28	Juan Pedro Lopez	Movistar Team	s.t.
29	Jesus Herrada	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
30	Clément Braz Afonso	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
31	Pavel Sivakov	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
32	Ander Okamika	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
33	Mikel Bizkarra	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
34	Mattéo Vercher	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
35	Sylvain Moniquet	Cofidis	s.t.
36	Axel Zingle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	1:07
37	Mario Aparicio	Burgos Burpellet BH	1:24
38	Juan Diego Quintero	Petrolike	2:24
39	Sven Erik Bystrøm	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
40	Quinten Hermans	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
41	Geoffrey Bouchard	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
42	Benoît Cosnefroy	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	6:12
43	Brent Van Moer	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
44	Xandro Meurisse	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
45	Josh Burnett	Burgos Burpellet BH	6:46
46	Matisse Van Kerckhove	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	7:43
47	Luke Tuckwell	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	9:12
48	Milan Vader	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	9:27
49	Victor Campenaerts	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	9:29
50	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	10:42
51	Michiel Lambrecht	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
52	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
53	Jon Agirre	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
54	Markus Hoelgaard	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
55	Valentin Madouas	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
56	Joan Bou	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
57	José Félix Parra	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
58	Jorge Arcas	Movistar Team	s.t.
59	Nicolas Alustiza	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
60	Ibai Azanza	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
61	Will Smith	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
62	Samuel Florez	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
63	Marton Dina	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
64	Marcin Budzinski	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
65	Lucas Towers	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	13:57
66	Ben Oliver	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	13:58
67	Nicolò Buratti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
68	Sergi Darder	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
69	Clément Russo	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
70	Kieran Haug	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
71	Alan Jousseaume	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
72	Julius Johansen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
73	Milan Lanhove	Team Flanders-Baloise	14:09
74	Loe van Belle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	14:14
75	Filippo Fiorelli	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	14:33
76	Søren Wærenskjold	Uno-X Mobility	14:56
77	Orluis Aular	Movistar Team	15:07
78	Jose Maria Martin	Equipo Kern Pharma	17:39
79	Joel Nicolau	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	17:46
80	Alexander Hajek	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	20:47
81	Frederik Wandahl	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	22:16
82	Alex Kirsch	Cofidis	22:34
83	Pablo Carrascosa	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
84	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	23:46
85	Matteo Ambrosini	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	25:06
86	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	25:50
87	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	s.t.
88	Domen Novak	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	27:02
89	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	27:25
90	Jose Antonio Prieto	Petrolike	28:38
91	Gari Ugarte	Euskaltel-Euskadi	29:06
92	Iker Gomez	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
93	Filip Maciejuk	Movistar Team	30:43
94	Romet Pajur	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	32:47
95	Giosue Epis	Petrolike	s.t.
96	Milan Fretin	Cofidis	s.t.
97	Nil Gimeno	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
98	Alexander Kamp	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
99	Ellande Larronde	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	33:51
100	Georgios Boúglas	Burgos Burpellet BH	35:35
101	Paul Penhoët	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
102	Michael Zarate Animas	Petrolike	s.t.
103	Piet Allegaert	Cofidis	s.t.
104	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	37:26
105	Javier Ibanez	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	37:32
106	Fernando Gaviria	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	37:39

 

Stage 2 map & profile:

Stage 2 map

Stage 2 profile

---

Wednesday, September 18: Stage 1, Benahavis - Pizarra, 150.1 km

Stage 1 map & profile | Stage 1 photos

Christophe Laporte takes the first stage.

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Weather at the finish city of Pizarra at 2:15 PM, local time: 19C (67F), fair, with the wind from the north-northwest at 21 km/hr (13 mph). No rain is forecast.

The race: Here's the report from stage winner Christophe Laporte's Team Visma | Lease a Bike.

Christophe Laporte celebrated victory in his first race of the season. In the opening stage of the Ruta del Sol, the 33-year-old Frenchman was the fastest in the bunch sprint. His victory also makes him the first leader in the general classification.

"It's fantastic to start the season this way", Laporte said. "I really wanted to ride a few races before the classics season starts. I had a good winter and was looking forward to starting my season today. During the race, I felt strong and was able to keep up with the pace of the guys on the climbs. We were in control all day and always had someone from our team in the front group."

The start of the Spanish stage race had barely been given when Victor Campenaerts went on the attack. The 34-year-old Belgian, who is riding his first race of the season in Andalusia, attacked on his own and took ten points for the mountain classification at the top of the Puerto del Madrono. Thanks to that effort, he will race in the mountain jersey tomorrow.

Campenaerts was caught shortly afterwards by the peloton, which split in two halfway through the race. Axel Zingle, Will Smith, Matisse Van Kerckhove, Laporte, and Campenaerts were alert and remained at the front of the group. Zingle broke away from the group with nine other riders, but eventually everything came back together.

"In the final, the team did an excellent job of bringing me to the front", Laporte continued. "In the sprint, I got to the front a little too early, so I decided to slow down for a moment. I followed the wheel of the riders in front of me and started the sprint at about 200 meters. I went full to the finish line and saw that I had enough of a lead. It's great to be able to finish the work of my teammates like this."

With his victory in Andalusia, Laporte seems to have finally put a difficult period behind him. The Frenchman struggled with a persistent virus that kept him sidelined for almost the entire past season. On his return in October last year, he immediately made his mark by winning the Tour of Holland. Now, just under four months later, he is back on the top step of the podium.

"This is a very good start", sports director Marc Reef said. "Victor jumped away immediately after the start and created a good situation for us. After he got caught, the attacks followed one after another. Our men were very sharp and Christophe in particular showed that he is in good shape. In the end, everything came together again and we took control of the peloton.”

"In the last kilometer, Axel braked a little too early, causing Christophe to take the lead too soon. He had to hold back for a moment, but then you can see that his instincts are excellent and he starts the sprint at the right moment. It's great that he's taken a victory right away after a difficult year. He really deserves it." Laporte gave Team Visma | Lease a Bike its second victory of the season.

Complete Results:

Stage 1 photos

150.1 kilometers raced at an average speed of 41.957 km/hr

1	Christophe Laporte	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	3hr 34min 39sec
2	Bastien Tronchon	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
3	Ben Oliver	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
4	Søren Wærenskjold	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
5	Fred Wright	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
6	Nicolò Buratti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
7	Michiel Lambrecht	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
8	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
9	Jon Barrenetxea	Movistar Team	s.t.
10	Jose Maria Martin	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
11	Haimar Etxeberria	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
12	Sergi Darder	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
13	Gotzon Martín	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
14	Senne Thonnon	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
15	Benoît Cosnefroy	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
16	Mathieu Burgaudeau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
17	Alex Aranburu	Cofidis	s.t.
18	Aleksandr Vlasov	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
19	Rayan Boulahoite	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
20	Andrii Ponomar	Petrolike	s.t.
21	Joel Nicolau	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
22	Alessandro Fancellu	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
23	Adrien Boichis	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
24	Sergio Chumil	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
25	Clément Russo	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
26	Juan Diego Quintero	Petrolike	s.t.
27	Jokin Murguialday	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
28	Jose Manuel Diaz	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
29	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
30	Tim Wellens	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
31	Ivan Cobo	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
32	Jon Agirre	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
33	Lorenzo Nespoli	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
34	Ion Izagirre	Cofidis	s.t.
35	Sven Erik Bystrøm	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
36	Johannes Kulset	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
37	Jan Christen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
38	Luca Cretti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
39	Mario Aparicio	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
40	Victor Campenaerts	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
41	Romain Grégoire	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
42	Torstein Træen	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
43	Valentin Madouas	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
44	Quinten Hermans	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
45	Brent Van Moer	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
46	Clément Braz Afonso	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
47	Pavel Sivakov	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
48	Jesus Herrada	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
49	Milan Vader	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
50	Tom Pidcock	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
51	Kieran Haug	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
52	Markus Hoelgaard	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
53	Geoffrey Bouchard	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
54	Jorge Arcas	Movistar Team	s.t.
55	Joan Bou	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
56	Lucas Towers	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
57	Ander Okamika	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
58	Jefferson Cepeda	Movistar Team	s.t.
59	Juan Pedro Lopez	Movistar Team	s.t.
60	José Félix Parra	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
61	Iván Romeo	Movistar Team	s.t.
62	Mikel Bizkarra	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
63	Alan Jousseaume	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
64	Ibai Azanza	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
65	Marton Dina	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
66	Nicolas Alustiza	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
67	Josh Burnett	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
68	Julius Johansen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
69	Sylvain Moniquet	Cofidis	s.t.
70	Andreas Leknessund	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
71	Mattéo Vercher	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
72	Xandro Meurisse	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
73	Samuel Florez	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
74	Marcin Budzinski	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
75	Will Smith	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
76	Axel Zingle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	@ 13sec
77	Loe van Belle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	0:16
78	Filippo Fiorelli	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	0:35
79	Matisse Van Kerckhove	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	1:31
80	Milan Lanhove	Team Flanders-Baloise	3:27
81	Alexander Hajek	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	6:49
82	Orluis Aular	Movistar Team	7:41
83	Luke Tuckwell	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	8:18
84	Frederik Wandahl	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
85	Matteo Ambrosini	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	10:04
86	Filip Maciejuk	Movistar Team	13:04
87	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
88	Domen Novak	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
89	Giosue Epis	Petrolike	15:08
90	Romet Pajur	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
91	Nil Gimeno	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
92	Iker Gomez	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
93	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
94	Alex Kirsch	Cofidis	s.t.
95	Milan Fretin	Cofidis	s.t.
96	Gari Ugarte	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
97	Alejandro Callejas	Petrolike	s.t.
98	Alexander Kamp	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
99	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	s.t.
100	Pablo Carrascosa	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
101	Paul Penhoët	Groupama-FDJ United	17:56
102	Hugo Scala Jr	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
103	Antonio Prieto Jose	Petrolike	s.t.
104	Georgios Boúglas	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
105	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
106	Michael Zarate	Petrolike	s.t.
107	Piet Allegaert	Cofidis	s.t.
108	Samuel Boardman	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	19:47
109	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
110	Ellande Larronde	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	19:53
111	Javier Ibanez	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
112	Paul Wright	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
113	Fernando Gaviria	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.

 

GC after stage 1:

• GC leader: Christophe Laporte (Visma | Lease a Bike)
• Mountains classification leader: Victor Campenaerts (Visma | Lease a Bike)
• Points classification leader: Christophe Laporte (Visma | Lease a Bike)
• Best young rider: Rayan Boulahoite (TotalEnergies)
• Teams classification leader: TotalEnergies

1	Christophe Laporte	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	3hr 34min 39sec
2	Bastien Tronchon	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
3	Ben Oliver	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
4	Søren Wærenskjold	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
5	Fred Wright	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
6	Nicolò Buratti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
7	Michiel Lambrecht	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
8	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
9	Jon Barrenetxea	Movistar Team	s.t.
10	Jose Maria Martin	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
11	Haimar Etxeberria	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
12	Sergi Darder	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
13	Gotzon Martín	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
14	Senne Thonnon	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
15	Benoît Cosnefroy	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
16	Mathieu Burgaudeau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
17	Alex Aranburu	Cofidis	s.t.
18	Aleksandr Vlasov	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
19	Rayan Boulahoite	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
20	Andrii Ponomar	Petrolike	s.t.
21	Joel Nicolau	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
22	Alessandro Fancellu	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
23	Adrien Boichis	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
24	Sergio Chumil	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
25	Clément Russo	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
26	Juan Diego Quintero	Petrolike	s.t.
27	Jokin Murguialday	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
28	Jose Manuel Diaz	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
29	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
30	Tim Wellens	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
31	Ivan Cobo	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
32	Jon Agirre	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
33	Lorenzo Nespoli	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
34	Ion Izagirre	Cofidis	s.t.
35	Sven Erik Bystrøm	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
36	Johannes Kulset	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
37	Jan Christen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
38	Luca Cretti	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
39	Mario Aparicio	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
40	Victor Campenaerts	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
41	Romain Grégoire	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
42	Torstein Træen	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
43	Valentin Madouas	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
44	Quinten Hermans	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
45	Brent Van Moer	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
46	Clément Braz Afonso	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
47	Pavel Sivakov	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
48	Jesus Herrada	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
49	Milan Vader	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
50	Tom Pidcock	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
51	Kieran Haug	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
52	Markus Hoelgaard	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
53	Geoffrey Bouchard	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
54	Jorge Arcas	Movistar Team	s.t.
55	Joan Bou	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
56	Lucas Towers	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
57	Ander Okamika	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
58	Jefferson Cepeda	Movistar Team	s.t.
59	Juan Pedro Lopez	Movistar Team	s.t.
60	José Félix Parra	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
61	Iván Romeo	Movistar Team	s.t.
62	Mikel Bizkarra	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
63	Alan Jousseaume	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
64	Ibai Azanza	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
65	Marton Dina	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
66	Nicolas Alustiza	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
67	Josh Burnett	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
68	Julius Johansen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
69	Sylvain Moniquet	Cofidis	s.t.
70	Andreas Leknessund	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
71	Mattéo Vercher	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
72	Xandro Meurisse	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
73	Samuel Florez	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
74	Marcin Budzinski	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
75	Will Smith	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
76	Axel Zingle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	@ 13sec
77	Loe van Belle	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	0:16
78	Filippo Fiorelli	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	0:35
79	Matisse Van Kerckhove	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	1:31
80	Milan Lanhove	Team Flanders-Baloise	3:27
81	Alexander Hajek	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	6:49
82	Orluis Aular	Movistar Team	7:41
83	Luke Tuckwell	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	8:18
84	Frederik Wandahl	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
85	Matteo Ambrosini	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	10:04
86	Filip Maciejuk	Movistar Team	13:04
87	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
88	Domen Novak	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
89	Giosue Epis	Petrolike	15:08
90	Romet Pajur	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
91	Nil Gimeno	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
92	Iker Gomez	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
93	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
94	Alex Kirsch	Cofidis	s.t.
95	Milan Fretin	Cofidis	s.t.
96	Gari Ugarte	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
97	Alejandro Callejas	Petrolike	s.t.
98	Alexander Kamp	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
99	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	s.t.
100	Pablo Carrascosa	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
101	Paul Penhoët	Groupama-FDJ United	17:56
102	Hugo Scala Jr	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
103	Jose Antonio Prieto	Petrolike	s.t.
104	Georgios Boúglas	Burgos Burpellet BH	s.t.
105	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
106	Michael Zarate	Petrolike	s.t.
107	Piet Allegaert	Cofidis	s.t.
108	Samuel Boardman	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	19:47
109	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
110	Ellande Larronde	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	19:53
111	Javier Ibanez	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
112	Paul Wright	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling	s.t.
113	Fernando Gaviria	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.

Stage 1 map & profile:

Stage 1 map

Stage 1 profile

Stage 1 photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti:

Starting ceremonies, Team Groupama-FDJ United is presented.

Team Visma | Lease a Bike

Juan Pedro Lopez gets his bike

The peloton races across the Spanish countryside.

A closer shot of the peloton

Here they come...

Stage winner Christophe Laporte sitting up to celebrate his stage win.

The stage is Christophe Laporte's.

Stage winner Christophe Laporte and teammate Matisse Van Kerckhove celebrate.

Christophe Laporte will start stage two in the GC leader's yellow jersey.

---

Start list with back numbers, February 17, 2026:

	UAE Team Emirates-XRG
1	Tim Wellens
2	Jan Christen
3	Benoît Cosnefroy
4	Julius Johansen
5	Domen Novak
6	Pavel Sivakov
	Uno-X Mobility
11	Søren Wærenskjold
12	Torstein Træen
13	Andreas Leknessund
14	Johannes Kulset
15	Alexander Kamp
16	Sven Erik Bystrøm
17	Markus Hoelgaard
	Movistar Team
21	Jorge Arcas
22	Orluis Aular
23	Jon Barrenetxea
24	Jefferson Cepeda
25	Juan Pedro Lopez
26	Filip Maciejuk
27	Iván Romeo
	Team TotalEnergies
31	Geoffrey Bouchard
32	Rayan Boulahoite
33	Mathieu Burgaudeau
34	Sandy Dujardin
35	Thomas Gachignard
36	Alan Jousseaume
37	Mattéo Vercher
	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
41	Tom Pidcock
42	Quinten Hermans
43	Kamil Malecki
44	Xandro Meurisse
45	Brent Van Moer
46	Milan Vader
47	Fred Wright
	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
51	Haimar Etxeberria
52	Adrien Boichis
53	Alexander Hajek
54	Luke Tuckwell
55	Romet Pajur
56	Aleksandr Vlasov
57	Frederik Wandahl
	Burgos Burpellet BH
61	Jose Manuel Diaz
62	Mario Aparicio
63	Josh Burnett
64	Sergio Chumil
65	Jesus Herrada
66	Ander Okamika
67	Georgios Boúglas
	Equipo Kern Pharma
71	Ibai Azanza
72	Pablo Carrascosa
73	Nil Gimeno
74	Iker Gomez
75	Ivan Cobo
76	Unai Iribar
77	Jose Maria Martin
	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
81	Joan Bou
82	Sergi Darder
83	Fernando Gaviria
84	Javier Ibanez
85	Ellande Larronde
86	Joel Nicolau
87	José Félix Parra
	Euskaltel-Euskadi
91	Jon Agirre
92	Gotzon Martín
93	Iker Mintegi
94	Mikel Bizkarra
95	Gari Ugarte
96	Jokin Murguialday
97	Nicolas Alustiza
	Team Flanders-Baloise
101	Tom Crabbe
102	Michiel Lambrecht
103	Milan Lanhove
104	Senne Thonnon
105	Vincent Van Hemelen
106	Henri Vandenabeele
107	Dylan Vandenstorme
	Petrolike
111	Jonathan Caicedo
112	Alejandro Callejas
113	Andrii Ponomar
114	Giosue Epis
115	Jose Antonio Prieto
116	Michael Zarate
117	Juan Diego Quintero
	Groupama-FDJ United
121	Clément Braz Afonso
122	Maxime Decomble
123	Romain Grégoire
124	Valentin Madouas
125	Paul Penhoët
126	Clément Russo
127	Bastien Tronchon
	Cofidis
131	Alex Aranburu
132	Milan Fretin
133	Alex Kirsch
134	Piet Allegaert
135	Dylan Teuns
136	Ion Izagirre
137	Sylvain Moniquet
	Team Visma | Lease a Bike
141	Christophe Laporte
142	Axel Zingle
143	Will Smith
144	Filippo Fiorelli
145	Victor Campenaerts
146	Matisse Van Kerckhove
147	Loe van Belle
	Modern Adventure Pro Cycling
151	Samuel Boardman
152	Samuel Florez
153	Kieran Haug
154	Ben Oliver
155	Hugo Scala Jr
156	Lucas Towers
157	Paul Wright
	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort
161	Matteo Ambrosini
162	Luca Cretti
163	Nicolò Buratti
164	Marton Dina
165	Marcin Budzinski
166	Lorenzo Nespoli
167	Alessandro Fancellu