Tom Pidcock in search of the golden olive of the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior

Although it is considered that the spring classics do not begin until the Belgian Opening Weekend, the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior and its proposal of dirt segments among the olive groves of the Andalusian province, after only 5 editions held including that of 2026, is becoming one of the most attractive proposals at the start of this year, which will take place next Monday, February 16.

Favorites to Win the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior 2026

An interesting lineup of participants in this 2026 edition of the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior. However, among all the contenders for the curious trophy that recognizes the winner of this race, a huge golden olive, one name stands out above the rest. We are talking about Tom Pidcock, who in his debut last Friday at the Vuelta a Murcia showed excellent form after his intense training camp in Chile.

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While the Brit can be considered the cyclist to watch for victory, as happened in almost all races of 2025, in a script that seems to be repeating in this new season, the UAE Team Emirates XRG presents a team of high caliber, starting with Tim Wellens, who has reached the podium of the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior on two occasions and will try to break the curse of not winning.

In any case, UAE Team Emirates XRG also has other assets like Marc Soler, who debuted his palmarès at the Vuelta a Murcia after finishing a breakaway with his teammate Julius Johansen, who will also be competing in Jaén.

When it comes to racing on dirt segments, we must include a World Champion of Gravel like Matej Mohoric, who will be the most visible head of a Bahrain Victorious team that will also have a competitive Peio Bilbao in these early-season races.

We should also pay attention to a Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe team that starts the spring with the need to prove they can shine in the classics, especially after last year's disastrous spring campaign. Maxim Van Gils and Gianni Vermeersch will be their most suitable riders for this terrain, although we must not forget that they will also have a rider like Giullio Pellizzari, who, despite his more stage-race profile, can shine in any scenario.

Finally, we must mention a determined Movistar Team that has started 2026 with tremendous ambition and will line up the Spanish Champion, Iván Romeo, as the leader for this race. Will we see a cyclist win this race again wearing the red and yellow jersey as in the 2024 edition?

Route of the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior 2026

Problems for the organization led by Pascual Montparler in the days leading up to the race due to the chain of storms that have hit Andalusia, leaving rainfall figures rarely seen in those areas.

In recent weeks, all the dirt segments have been monitored until, this week, they were forced to make some modifications, eliminating one of the sectors that will be replaced by a new one: San Bartolomé.
In total, the route, starting and finishing in the town of Úbeda, will consist of 154.2 kilometers, of which 25 correspond to the passage through the olive groves, a total of 6 dirt sectors that are concentrated, as is customary in this race, in the second half. Although the focus is on the dirt segments, we should not overlook the 2,400 meters of elevation gain that the race accumulates.

How to Watch the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior 2026

Both Eurosport and RTVE will be options to follow the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior 2026 live. If we choose Eurosport, we can follow the broadcast on the Eurosport 2 channel starting at 15:30 and, of course, also on the HBO-Max platform.

Similarly, the Teledeporte channel will broadcast the race live completely free of charge, as will the online platform RTVE Play.