The 2016 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana was a

road cycling Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes recreational, racing, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, road cyclists are generally expected to obey the same laws as ...

stage race that took place in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...

between 3 and 7 February 2016. The race was rated as a

2.1 The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world's governing body in the sport of bicycle racing, classifies races according to a rating scale. The rating is represented by a code made of two or three parts and indicates both the type or style ...

event as part of the

2016 UCI Europe Tour The 2016 UCI Europe Tour was the twelfth season of the UCI Europe Tour. The 2016 season began on 28 January 2016 with the Trofeo Santanyí-Ses Salines-Campos and ended on 23 October 2016 with the Chrono des Nations. French rider Nacer Bouhanni ...

. It was the 67th edition of the

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (; en, Tour of the Valencian Community or Tour of Valencia) is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community (''Comunitat Valenciana''), Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is ofte ...

and the first since 2008; the race was revived by

Ángel Casero Ángel Luis Casero Moreno (born 27 September 1972 in Albalat dels Tarongers, Province of Valencia) is a retired Spanish road bicycle racer who raced professionally between 1994 and 2005. His first win was at the 1995 Clásica a los Puertos de ...

and his brother

Rafael Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * ''R ...

. The race included five stages. The first of these was a

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' " stopwatch stage"). There are also track ...

; this was then followed by four road stages, ending in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

. The previous champion, from the 2008 edition, was

Rubén Plaza Rubén Plaza Molina (born 29 February 1980) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2019 for the , S.L. Benfica, , (over three spells), , and teams. During his career, he recorded a to ...

, but his team was not among those invited to start the race. The first stage time trial was won by

Wout Poels Wouter Lambertus Martinus Henricus Poels (born 1 October 1987) is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Poels was born in Venray. He almost lost a kidney after a massive crash on the sixth stage of the ...

(), with

Luis León Sánchez Luis León Sánchez Gil (born 24 November 1983) is a Spanish road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Sánchez's major achievements include winning the overall classifications of the 2009 Paris–Nice and the 2005 Tour Down ...

() second and Poels's teammate

Vasil Kiryienka Vasili Vasilyevich Kiryienka ( be, Васіль Васілевіч Кірыенка; Łacinka: Vasil Vasilevič Kiryjenka; born 28 June 1981) is a Belarusian former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2006 and 2020 for the OTC Doors, ...

, the world time trial champion third. Poels retained his lead by finishing third on the uphill finish the following day, with

Dan Martin Daniel Martin may refer to: People * Dan Martin (actor) (born 1951), American actor *Dan Martin (drama educator) (born 1953), American academic *Dan Martin (cyclist) (born 1986), Irish road bicycle racer *Dan Martin (footballer) (born 1986), Britis ...

() winning the stage. He maintained this the following day, with

Dylan Groenewegen Dylan Groenewegen (born 21 June 1993) is a Dutch professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He has won five individual Tour de France stages and one team time trial stage. He has also won the Dutch National Road R ...

( winning a sprint. Poels extended his lead by winning Stage 4 alone, with his teammate

Beñat Intxausti Beñat Intxausti Elorriaga (born 20 March 1986) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2007 and 2019 for the Nicolas Mateos, , , , and teams. Career Intxausti was born in Amorebieta-Etxano, Bis ...

finishing second and moving up to third overall. The final stage was won in a solo break by

Stijn Vandenbergh Stijn Vandenbergh (born 25 April 1984) is a Belgian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2007 and 2020 for the , , and teams. Born in Oudenaarde, Vandenbergh, as a first year professional, won the first sta ...

(). Poels won the overall classification, with Sánchez second and Intxausti third. Poels also won the points and mountains classification, and Team Sky won the team classification.

Teams

25 teams were invited to take part in the race. These included eight

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour ...

s, eight

UCI Professional Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

teams, eight

UCI Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, th ...

teams and a Spanish national team.

Stages

Stage 1

3 February 2016 – Benicàssim–

Oropesa del Mar Oropesa del Mar ( ca-valencia, Orpesa) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Plana Alta in the Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain ...

, ( ITT)

Stage 2

4 February

Castellón de la Plana Castellón de la Plana (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló de la Plana), or simply Castellón ( ca-valencia, Castelló, link=no) is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east ...

– Fredes,

Stage 3

5 February –

Sagunto Sagunto ( ca-valencia, Sagunt) is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It belongs to the modern fertile ''comarca'' of Camp de Morvedre. It is located c. 30 km north of the city of Valencia, cl ...

– Alzira,

Stage 4

6 February –

Orihuela Orihuela (; ca-valencia, Oriola ) is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 33,943 inhabitants at the beginning of 2013. The mu ...

–

Xorret de Catí The Xorret de Catí is a mountain in the Prebaetic System, southern Spain. It spans the province of Alicante. Xorret de Catí is open throughout the year. Cycling Xorret de Catí is one of the most famous cycling climbs in the Valencia region ...

Stage 5

7 February –

–Valencia,

Classification Leadership

References

External links

* {{Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...