Ruta del Sol 2026: Route

The Vuelta a Andalucía covers roughly 810 kilometres of racing over five days. Flat roads are a rarity in the deep south of Spain, which is clearly reflected in the route, although, strikingly, not a single stage finishes uphill. Racing starts this coming Wednesday and finishes the following Sunday.

Stage-by-stage breakdown of the 2026 Ruta del Sol

Click the stage links below to explore each stage in full

Stage 1
In the opening stage, the riders travel from Benahavís to Pizarra. Along the way, they cross the Sierra de las Nieves, with the Puerto del Madroño and Puerto del Viento standing out, although the finale takes place in the Guadalhorce valley. Almost all of the 2,750 metres of climbing are concentrated in the first half of the route.

Stage 2
Starting in the coastal town of Torrox and tackling the seemingly endless Puerto de la Cabra early on, stage 2 is on paper the hardest of the Ruta del Sol. The route also features 2,750 metres of elevation gain – again mainly in the first half – but the key difference is that the distance is considerably shorter: less than 140 kilometres.

Stage 3
After the start in Jaén, the riders pass over the Alto de Santa Ana and Puerto de Peñallana before finishing on a false flat in Lopera. In total, the riders tackle around 2,000 metres of climbing.

Stage 4
The peloton travels from Montoro to Pozoblanco, where Kristoff celebrated at the same finish last year. Chances are that the fast men will be in contention again, although they will need to be aware that the road rises gently on a false flat over the final 2.5 kilometres.

Stage 5
In the final stage of the Ruta del Sol, the riders take on 2,300 metres of climbing over 167.6 kilometres. With a double ascent of the Alto de la Primera Cruz, the finale looks highly appealing for puncheurs. The Primera Cruz is a climb of 2.8 kilometres at an average gradient of 5.9%, followed by a short descent leading onto the final 900 metres at 7.3%.