The 2027 season starts very soon: new 2.1 stage race in the Canary Islands opens the calendar

The men's professional cycling calendar is gearing up for a record debut: a brand-new stage race in the Canary Islands will kick off the 2027 season earlier than ever before.

Ranked 2.1 on the UCI calendar, this will be the first professional stage race in the history of the Spanish archipelago, taking place from January 14th to 17th. The race will be almost a week before the traditional season kickoff, the Tour Down Under in Australia, which kicks off on January 19th.

Located over 1,000 kilometers south of mainland Spain, the Canary Islands have long been a hotspot for high-altitude training camps and mild winter weather, two factors that could make participation particularly attractive for professional teams already stationed on the islands for training.

While route details haven't been revealed yet, organizers have confirmed on social media that both WorldTour and ProTeam teams will participate in the race, with stages taking place on both the main islands, Gran Canaria and Tenerife. This mix of categories promises excitement from the very first kilometer.

This news also represents a boost of confidence for the Spanish calendar, which had lost several stage races in recent years, before events like the O Gran Camiño , born in 2022, gave a glimpse of a turnaround.

After years of rumors and speculation, the Canary Islands were finally set to host the Vuelta a España this September, for the first time since the mid-1980s. But an ambitious plan to fly the race for the final four stages fell through at the last minute, and the 2026 Vuelta ultimately concluded on the Spanish mainland, in Granada.

The possibility of a return of the Vuelta a las Canarias in 2028 or 2029 seems to be back on the table, but for now nothing is confirmed.

Meanwhile, the first professional road race in the history of the Canary Islands is ready to debut in January, and as the first event of the season, it is attracting public interest.