Geelong > Geelong 142km Climbers versus sprinters, but who’ll come out on top?

Lluc > Selva 152km A different route compared to last year, potentially a little easier. It’s still not easy, it’s a day where many different scenarios are possible.

Maraya > Skyviews of Harrat Uwayrid 140km After winning on Wednesday, Tom Pidcock is in the race lead as we approach the Queen stage. This stage has been used for the last 3 years, it’s always brilliant to watch the pros grind up the brutally steep slopes of the big climb. Can Pidcock hold onto the lead?

Ses Salines > Colònia de Sant Jordi 186km The second day in Mallorca is one for the fast men, it’s a great chance to get an early win in the bag. It should be a relatively calm day and then a big finale.

Hegra > Tayma Fort 179km Day 3 and after the GC riders had their fun today, it’s another one for the fast men.

Palmanova > Palmanova 150km It’s a very similar route to last year, when Simon Carr won after being in the break all day. McNulty and Vlasov did get across to him, but after McNulty had cramp in the closing kilometres, Carr took a quite sensational win. Given that the climbs are front loaded, being in the break isn’t the worst idea. This is a race with lots of climbing and descending, being good at both is definitely an advantage.

AlUla Old Town > Bir Jaydah Mountain Wirkah 159km The first of two GC days, this is the new one the organisers have introduced. We have three ascents of Bir Jaydah Mountain, the penultimate time up has 3-2-1 bonus seconds at the top, last time up obviously is about the stage win and the 10 second bonus. I think this stage will be the hardest of the week, the winner will likely win the race come the weekend.

Al Manshiyah Train Station > Al Manshiyah Train Station 147km The opening stage of the race is one for the fast men and it’s the same finish which was used last year. Most of the top sprinters were here last year, no doubt they’ll remember the technical finale as most messed it up in 2024.

The organisers have decided to make the race a little harder, there’s now two GC days instead of one. The rest of the stages should end in a sprint, which is why there’s still lots of fast men here, and there’s one day where we could see echelons. Simon Yates won in 2024, but he’s not back to defend his title, so there should be a new winner this year. Please note, in the profiles, just the bonus sprint (B) gives out 3-2-1 seconds. Some of these are placed in tempting positions, and bonus seconds are usually important in a...

Valencia > La Nucía 187km The organisers must have been bored of seeing sprinters win this race, they’ve gone and totally changed the type of rider who can win. Not only does Coll de Rates now feature in the final 45km but they’ve also put a very challenging climb in the final 13km. Goodbye sprinters, hello climbers. The race finishes just outside Benidorm, maybe the teams can head to the strip afterwards for a game of bingo.