Last year, the Volta ao Algarve also finished atop Alto da Fóia. On that occasion, Jan Christen attacked from the breakaway in the final kilometre and soloed to victory. João Almeida bridged across to the young Swiss rider just before the line, but allowed his team-mate to take the win.
The route largely overlaps with last year’s. Once again, the riders tackle the Picota climb – 1.4 kilometres at 7.9% – and the Alferce climb, which averages 6.1% over 4.3 kilometres. Both are categorised climbs, while just before Alferce, the road rises twice without classification: first for 1.8 kilometres at 7.1%, then for 2.7 kilometres at 7.9%.
The pre-finale is slightly less demanding this time around. With 20 kilometres remaining, the riders climb towards Casais for 2 kilometres at 7.9%. From there, the road continues in rolling fashion towards the foot of the final climb. It kicks in hard with 1.3 kilometres at 9.1%, then eases somewhat, but still averages 6.2% over its full length of 8.9 kilometres.
Beginning 13.8 kilometres from the line, the Golden Kilometre features two intermediate sprints within 1,500 metres, each offering 3, 2 and 1 bonus seconds. At the finish, the first three riders gain 10, 6 and 4 bonus seconds.
Fancy riding the route yourself? Download GPX 2nd stage 2026 Volta ao Algarve.
Stage 2 of the Volta ao Algarve starts at 12:45 and is expected to finish at around 16:35 – both local times (WET).
Volta ao Algarve 2026 stage 2: routes & profiles
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