All the reactions to the VCV 2026 presentation

During the presentation, we heard many things from those supporting the VCV. This is a brief summary of what was stated at the Municipal Sports Foundation:

 

 

Rocío Gil, Councillor for Sports of the Valencia City Council:

Once again, it finishes in an exceptional location: our beach, our most Mediterranean beach in the Marina. It will be spectacular, and it’s essential that it ends in Valencia.
Ensuring the women’s cycling team receives the same resources as the men’s team is a clear commitment to the city of Valencia. We will continue to support the values of sport and the fact that girls should have top-level female cyclists as role models.

 

 

Iván Sánchez, Deputy for Sports, Hunting and Water Management, Castellón Provincial Council:

Castellón is proud to host this first major UCI event in Europe. We’ll be arriving next to the Cabanes Natural Park, with its 120 km of unspoiled coastline, starting from inland. We’ve made a strong commitment to sport with the Castellón Sports Destination brand, from the interior to the coast, and we’ve marked 40 mountain passes to improve cyclist safety.

 

 

Pedro Antonio Cuesta, Deputy for Tourism and Sports, Provincial Council of Valencia:

We can show the world all the charms of the province and discover some hidden gems. Ángel brings some of the local talent to the province, making it even more appealing. We know the Volta will bring some normalcy back to certain areas. We certainly hope so, because we’ve made great strides in restoring normalcy after the DANA storm, but we still have a long way to go.

 

 

Fernando Canós, , deputy general director and general director of the Eastern Zone of Banc Sabadell:

It all started in 2016 with Ángel, and our CEO, Jaime Matas, a cycling enthusiast, decided to support the race. We’ll soon be celebrating the Volta’s centenary. Our motivations stem from the large number of cycling fans in the region, and the bank’s connection to this community—one of Banc Sabadell’s most important in Spain—is a way of giving back to them.

I still get emotional when I see people enjoying the Volta in every town and on every mountain pass.

 

 

Silvia Tirado, directora de la VCV Féminas G.P. Tuawa:

This is the eighth edition. Women’s cycling is now on equal footing with men’s. Following the same premise I shared with Ángel: same route, same infrastructure, and same prizes. We’ve been at the forefront. We have top-level riders who are role models. We’re going to see some very important cyclists, and this base will have someone to look up to.

We have two climbs very close together, and I think the peloton will split. The teams have asked me, “What should we bring?” And I’ve answered, climbers. We have a record number of WorldTour teams. Women’s teams are also relocating to our region.

 

 

Victoria Soltero, Head of Marketing and Sales at Tuawa:

We started with the Volta five years ago, a star of growth and ambition. We’ve broken down many barriers, and together we know we can go very far. We’ve learned from the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and changed the game at other events as well. We’ve managed to show 20,000 people a day that we don’t sell bottled water here because we’re capable of making this event sustainable. And we learned that from the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. It’s helped us evolve, leading us to make a commitment with Silvia, and we want to be for the Volta what Jordan was for Nike or what Intel was for Apple.

It’s not about sports. It’s about values. We’re doing two events alongside the Volta. I’m going with a challenge: to attract the largest number of women. And it’s also about cycling for the planet.

 

 

José Manuel Camarero, Regional Secretary for Tourism:

Tourism embodies the core values ​​of the Valencian Community. A picture is worth a thousand words—what light, what sunshine! And in February! The coast is wonderful, but it’s also great that tourists are exploring the interior. Those mountain passes… You realize the success you’ve achieved. The first in Europe, five spectacular stages, plus the VCV Féminas, sustainability. It’s the best place to live, to visit, and to cycle.

Amateur cyclists will be emulating the professionals, and this will happen all year round. We believe in the Volta a Catalunya, and the Generalitat is here to continue supporting it.

 

 

Luis Cervera, Director General of Sports:

Cycling is one of the region’s flagship sports. Being part of the international calendar strengthens our position. With a rich culture and tradition, the event attracts top teams. We have the reigning world time trial champion, a tradition dating back to 1929. It’s a firmly established event on the calendar.

 

 

José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, president of the CSD:

This is a race that kicks off the international calendar, and it represents the way things are done right in our country. It represents equality in sport. That commitment is fundamental. It connects the region, fosters social cohesion, and supports sustainable tourism. These are all great virtues. Cycling is a fundamental sport in this region. Ángel Casero and his team do an extraordinary job. They embody a set of values ​​that make us all better.

I’m going to try to come to a stage. I’d like to see it through Orba and Pedreguer; I’d love to see the stage.

 

 

Ángel Casero, general manager of the VCV:

This all started in the summer of 2015, and there’s no going back now. The family is growing in terms of towns and the team; we have our challenges, but like everyone else. I think the Volta is getting bigger, gaining more international visibility. More and more town councils, provincial councils, and the Generalitat (Valencian regional government) are supporting this race, and undoubtedly, the commitment of public and private sponsors is what makes us a little bigger and allows us to showcase our regions to audiences in over 200 countries.

Orihuela has hosted 10 of the last 11 years, and I remember the great rider Bernardo Ruiz, who passed away at 100 years old. We have a professional team that showcases our routes, and then the amateurs come to ride those same roads.

We’re going back to the DANA storm; we have to go back there and show that we’re recovering.

Organizing all five stages is complicated. We cover the area from north to south and from south to north. But we try to make the logistics easy for the teams. It’s not easy because it’s 360 days of work for five days of races.

The VCV brings in the big WorldTour teams, and then the rest of the teams follow, filling our 4- and 5-star hotels.

The VCV is the five-day race, the VCV Women’s race, the VCV Base for the youngest riders, and the 10 Peaks ride, which passes through Torralba del Pinar, where Remco Evenepoel won the Volta a Catalunya and where Strava is now full of routes taken by cyclotourists. We’re trying to gradually increase the number of cyclists we can attract. This definition isn’t just the VCV for professionals, but a whole that brings together the entire cycling family, from amateurs to the best riders.

We probably won’t know who the winner is until the very last finish line. Let’s hope it doesn’t rain during the time trial, which will be beautiful, but very technical. The mountain passes that Paco Benítez has prepared for us make the queen stage spectacular.

There’s a climb with a gradient of over 20% just 5 km from the finish in Benitatxell, which was pointed out to us by a 15-year-old cycling enthusiast who contacted us through Instagram.

I’d love to be able to return to the center of Valencia, like the Tour de France, the Vuelta a España, etc., but when the roadworks are finished, I think we’ll go back to having the Vuelta a Valencia (VCV) finish where it used to be.