Volta ao Algarve 2026 route

Just four months after his exit from UAE Team Emirates-XRG emerged in the midst of high drama in the Vuelta a España, Juan Ayuso's debut in Lidl-Trek colours at a significantly overhauled version of the Volta ao Algarve this February will see the Spanish champion take on his former squad for the first time in Portugal's premier week-long stage race.

Anticipation will be high, too, given Ayuso is set to face off against one of the top racers at UAE Team Emirates, João Almeida, just when Almeida is battling to go one better than his second place overall behind 2025 winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).

The all-Iberian duel between Spain's Ayuso and Portugal's Almeida at the top of the GC hierarchy will headline a race featuring 12 WorldTour teams, three ProTeams, and no less than nine Portuguese Continental teams.

Quite apart from Ayuso, Paul Seixas, France's great new talent with Decathlon CMA CGM team, is another top new name for the Portuguese stage race to follow. More familiar faces include Giro d'Italia winner Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), former double World Champion Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor), Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and Lotto-Intermarché's Arnaud De Lie.

Stage 2 looks similar, with the usual summit finish on the Algarve's highest peak, the Alto da Foía in the Serra de Monchique. But a new, tough Cat.1 mid-stage climb, 8.5kilometres long and with sections of up to 14%, could render this stage far more decisive than usual in the overall.

Stage 3's technically challenging time trial over a medium distance then puts the ball in the court of the specialists, prior to another sprint stage, where prolonged spells along exposed sections of the western Algarve could easily spark echelons in the strong Atlantic winds.

Stage 5's ascent of the Alto do Malhão, just 2.6 kilometres long but with some punishingly steep sections and an average gradient of 9.8%, will decide the final winner on February 22.

The major innovation of this emblematic ascent is that it will be tackled not once, but twice. The last stage will have over 3,000 metres of vertical climbing, too - the most of any day of the 697.41 kilometre 2026 race.

Volta ao Algarve 2026: the route

• Wednesday February 18: Stage 1: Vila Real de San António - Tavira 185.6km
• Thursday February 19: Stage 2: Portimão - Alto da Foía 157.1km
• Friday February 20: Stage 3: Vilamoura - Vilamoura ITT 19.5km
• Saturday February 21: Stage 4: Albufeira - Lagos 182.1km
• Sunday February 22: Stage 5. Faro - Alto do Malhão 153.1km

Stage 1: Vila Real de Santo António - Tavira 185.6km

Stage 1 is designed for the sprinters, but it has a golden kilometre, something which regularly features in the biggest Belgian stage races, with three bonus sprints in just one kilometres. As a result,
the stage winner may not necessarily be the first leader of the Volta ao Algarve.

Stage 2: Portimão-Alto da Fóia 157.1km

Stage 2 from Portimão to Alto da Fóia in the Serra de Monchique culminates with the first major GC battle of three in the 2026 race at the summit of the highest point in the Algarve region. Regularly used in the Volta, Fóia holds few secrets for most of the regular contenders, but the inclusion of a brace of tougher Cat.3 ascents beforehand, one of them immediately preceding Fóia, could make it much more difficult. The wind, too, could well play a major factor on Fóia's very exposed upper slopes.

Stage 3: Vilamoura - Vilamoura ITT 19.5km

Part 3 of the five-day Algarve battle is an individual time trial starting and finishing in Vilamoura. Just 19.5 kilometres long, the technical, rolling course, with many urban sectors, constitutes one of the main challenges of the GC race.

Stage 4: -Lagos

Stage 4, likely to end in a bunch sprint, traditionally sees few overall changes. But the last section with flat, exposed coastal roads en route to the westerly city of Lagos might see echelons form and GC contenders will have to be attentive.

Stage 5: Faro-Alto do Malhão 153.1km

Last but not least, Sunday starts from the region's capital Faro and culminates in the usual showdown on the Alto do Malhão. Taclked twice on a very hilly 45 kilometre final circuit, Malhão's punishingly steep slopes could yet see another big change on GC. It certainly wouldn't be the first time.