The 52nd edition of the Volta ao Algarve runs for five stages from February 18 to February 22, taking in a time trial, two summit finishes, and two sprint stages. The race is an important early-season test for a host of riders, including many who are making their 2026 season debuts.
Previous winners Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel won't be returning to take part in this year's race, but there are plenty of interesting names to keep an eye on between Vila Real de Santo António and Malhão this week.
Several top sprinters are heading to the Algarve, including Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep), and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché), who will hope to perform on the stages to Tavira and Lagos, while time trial specialists including Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and Stefan Küng (Tudor) will aim the 19.5km TT in Vilamoura.
We've picked out five of the top GC contenders racing at this year's Volta ao Algarve; however, a group of riders who will look to perform in the time trial and at the two major uphill challenges at the race at Fóia and Malhão.
João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Home favourite João Almeida was the runner-up last year and will wear the number one dossard this time around. He finished ninth and sixth in two previous participations before taking second behind Vingegaard last February.
Almeida has a swathe of major stage races on his palmarès, including wins last year at Itzulia Basque Country, the Tour de Suisse, and Tour de Pologne. Earlier this month, he opened his 2026 account with a second place at the Volta Comunitat Valenciana, and he'll be hoping to return to winning ways on home ground and add this title to his collection.
The 27-year-old is continuing his journey to lead UAE at the Giro d'Italia in May, where he'll do battle with Vingegaard for the maglia rosa. Stops at Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya are next on the list.
Almeida leads the team at this year's race, and he'll be backed up by several compatriots – António Morgado and Ivo and Rui Oliveira. Brandon McNulty should also be a great help in a super-domestique role.
Paul Seixas (Decathlon-CMA CGM)
French youngster Paul Seixas is getting his 2026 campaign underway in Portugal, marking a change from last year, when he made his pro debut at the GP La Marseillaise and UAE Tour.
In 2025, Seixas won the Tour de l'Avenir in addition to taking eighth overall at the Critérium du Dauphine, third in the European Championships road race, and seventh at Il Lombardia. The 19-year-old is the rising star of French cycling and looks to be the country's next great Tour de France hope.
This spring, Algarve kicks off his road to the Ardennes Classics, with Strade Bianche and Itzulia Basque Country also featuring as stops en route to a Liège-Bastogne-Liège debut.
Seixas will be backed up by several members of the Decathlon-CMA CGM Classics team in Oliver Naesen, Sander De Pestel and Stan Dewulf. 23-year-old Matthew Riccitello, a new signing for 2026, is one to watch, too. The American rider triumphed on his season debut at the Tour de la Provence earlier this week.
Oscar Onley (Ineos Grenadiers)
23-year-old Oscar Onley heads up an Ineos Grenadiers selection which is sure to be closely watched this week, containing as it does another Ineos newcomer in French racer Kévin Vauquelin.
The pair finished fourth and seventh at last year's Tour de France for Picnic-PostNL and the now-defunct Arkéa-B&B Hotels, respectively, and they're the major additions to Ineos Grenadiers for the 2026 season.
Neither man has yet raced in 2026, with Vauquelin suffering a leg fracture shortly after the Tour, which rules him out for the remainder of 2025. Onley went on to finish fourth at the Tour of Britain and make his elite Road World Championships debut, however.
The pair will team up with another GC hopeful in Thymen Arensman to head up a powerful Ineos selection this week, with all three reasonably in line for a strong challenge at the top of the standings, depending on form. Elsewhere, the squad can look to Filippo Ganna in the time trial and Ben Turner in the sprints.
Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek)
Spanish racer Juan Ayuso is another rider on our list making his debut with a new squad at this year's Volta ao Algarve. The 23-year-old will lead Lidl-Trek for the first time following an acrimonious split with UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
Ayuso's 2025 was an up-and-down affair, which saw him win Tirreno-Adriatico and three stages across the Giro and Vuelta despite failing to finish the former and ending up 68th at the latter. He'll be hoping for more consistency and more harmonious relationships in 2026 at his new team.
Algarve is the first in a trio of stage races on Ayuso's schedule this spring, with Paris-Nice and Itzulia Basque Country also on the way before the Ardennes Classics and, in the summer, a shot at the Tour de France.
He'll be backed up by fellow Spaniards Héctor Alvarez and Carlos Verona this week, while Toms Skujinš and Lennard Kämna are other notable names in the Lidl-Trek selection.
Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
With Remco Evenepoel off at the UAE Tour, aiming to continue his flying start to 2026, the Belgian's Tour de France co-leader, Florian Lipowitz, will make his 2026 stage race debut here.
The pair already teamed up as part of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's winning TTT effort at the Trofeo Ses Salines at the end of January, though this is Lipowitz's first race since then. He'll lead a Red Bull selecti on which includes 2023 race winner Dani Martínez, though he's the undisputed GC leader this week.
Lipowitz will line up in Portugal as one of the big favourites for the GC, having grown into one of the top stage racers in the world during his three years at Red Bull. Last year saw podiums at Paris-Nice and the Critérium du Dauphiné lead into another at the Tour, where he took third place and the white jersey as best young rider.
If his consistent progress so far in his career is anything to go by, he should be a rider to be feared in 2026.
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