Tour of Valencia 2026 Route stage 5: Bétera

Tour of Valencia 2026 Route stage 5: Bétera - Valencia

Sunday 8 February – The final stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana covers 93.7 kilometres and features just under 1,300 metres of climbing. Not particularly exciting on paper, but three years ago this very route produced a thrilling race. Will it deliver the same again this time?

The final stage features two climbs. The Alto de L’Oronet rises for 4.2 kilometres at an average gradient of 4.4%, while the Puerto del Garbí climbs for 5.4 kilometres at 8.9%. The latter is also known as La Frontera and is a brutal ascent, with ramps reaching up to 18%. Its summit is located around 45 kilometres from the finish.

For many years, the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana concluded with a fairly predictable bunch sprint, but three years ago that tradition was broken on a route very similar to this year’s. Back then, the race exploded on La Frontera. Samuele Battistella emerged as the sole survivor from the breakaway, while chaos ensued behind. Aleksandr Vlasov, Giulio Ciccone, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Thymen Arensman and Marc Soler bridged across to the Italian, before Pello Bilbao, Brandon McNulty and Rui Costa also joined them shortly after the descent.

When Arensman and Costa attacked in the final kilometres, the chasing group hesitated. At the line, the Portuguese rider narrowly outsprinted the Dutchman, claiming not only the stage victory but also the overall win.

The following year, the route was identical to this season’s. Again, there was no sprint, although the racing was far less animated. Will Barta attacked from the day’s breakaway on La Frontera and went on to solo to victory after a roughly 50-kilometre effort.

Last year’s final stage featured no climbs at all, and the outcome was predictable: a bunch sprint, comfortably won by Jonathan Milan.

The first three riders at the finish gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds; the intermediate sprint at the Puerto del Garbí offers bonuses of 3, 2 and 1 seconds.

Ride the route yourself? Download GPX 5th stage 2026 Tour of Valencia.

Another interesting read: results 5th stage + final GC 2026 Tour of Valencia.