Does Remco Evenepoel start his training climb with a 120-kilometer solo in Valencia?

Saturday features the queen stage of the Volta Comunitat Valenciana 2026. The overwhelming favorite Remco Evenepoel finds a route that suits him perfectly here. The race starts in the well-known La Nucia, west of Benidorm. Soon after, the back side of the Coll de Rates comes up, followed by the Alto de Miserat. From there, it’s best to pay close attention to the race.

On the way to the finish town of Teulada Moraira, there are roughly 3300 meters of elevation gain and several tough climbs. Among them, the Alto de Miserat stands out with brutal stats: 5.1 kilometers at an average gradient of a whopping 10.1%. A real beast, but Remco Evenepoel knows it like the back of his hand; “I often do interval blocks on Alto Miserat to improve my climbing on steep sections,” the Belgian told Het Laatste Nieuws.

The double Olympic champion has a house in the Calpe region and frequently trains nearby. “At the top (of Miserat, ed.), there is a plateau and afterwards the wind will be an advantage all the way to Calpe. Even though there are still 120 kilometers to go from the top of Miserat, the race will explode there and won’t settle down.” The finale still includes Cumbre del Sol, where Tom Dumoulin discovered himself as a GC contender back in the 2015 Vuelta a España.

“Of the five climbs in the stage, I find Cumbre del Sol the most enjoyable climb,” says REV. After this last test, a challenging finale awaits—featuring the Muro del Pou—before the finish. If Evenepoel can control himself on Miserat, there will still be plenty of opportunities to impose his will on the competition in the finale. “The climbs here last a maximum of twenty minutes and are very punchy. My time trial abilities also come in handy. It’s a beautiful route for me.”