Mikel Landa reveals plans for the 2026 season, his seventeenth as a professional. The expert Spanish rider is returning from a rather complicated 2025 in which the injury suffered in the Tour of Italy which forced him to withdraw in the first stage and which influenced the second half of the year due to some back problems, but now, with the problems resolved and preparation having begun, the standard bearer of Soudal Quick-Step is ready to face the new year. As revealed in an interview with He saidthe 36-year-old will once again be at the start of the Corsa Rosa with ranking ambitions, but will later also take part in the Tour de France with the aim of a stage success.
“The idea is to start with the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana on February 4 – Landa’s words – Then I will focus on Catalunya, Basque Country, Giro and Tour. I have a score to settle with the Giro d’Italia after what happened last year. Let’s see if it goes better this time. Then, for the Tour they gave me the freedom to hunt for stages and not focus on the general classification. I like this double role.”
The Spanish climber returned to the fall that forced him to abandon the 2025 Giro already on the opening day: “I haven’t completely moved on yet. I went there with great enthusiasm and desire to do. I felt really good and in my head there was the idea that it would be my last chance, but everything went up in smoke on the first day. I have this doubt: will I be able to enjoy it?”
Together with the 36-year-old, another of the team’s top players will also be present in the Italian GT: “Paul Magnier will also be there as a sprinter and with him we will try to achieve stage victories, while I will aim for a good placement in the general classification“. As mentioned, at the Grande Boucle in July the objective will instead be different: “They left me free to aim for the stages and it is something that attracts me because I have never participated in the Tour de France with this objective and, honestly, I like it.”
With Evenepoel’s departure, Landa will return to have more freedom and responsibility in the team: “I’ve thought a lot about what to do next season and how to approach it. I relied a lot on the team, especially now that Remco is no longer there and that, in principle, I have more responsibilities again. Together we found this calendar and it really motivates me. It’s true that the team goes back to being the same as before, fighting for the sprinters’ stages or the classics. Even though, like I said, I have my space, there are young people who are coming and want to fight for week-long competitions, and I can help them“.
Regarding the future, a few months ago the Basque had renewed until the end of 2026 with the Belgian team, but the hope is to be able to continue for a further season in 2027 and, perhaps, end his career with Soudal Quick-Step: “At the moment I have the same possibility of hanging up my bike as of continuing. If I continue to enjoy myself this year, I’m at my level and the team wants it, I’ll continue. I feel good here, I feel appreciated and I’ve found my place, so I hope I can finish here.”
The 36-year-old hasn’t won since 2021, so the main objective in 2026 is to raise his arms to the sky again: “It’s been a clear goal every season, but then for one reason or another it eluded me. Let’s see if I can organize myself better this year and, after the performance I gave in the Vuelta, where I raced like I hadn’t done in a long time, I might succeed.”
Right at the last Vuelta the Spaniard came close to winning the 16tha stage, where he was beaten in the sprint by Egan Bernal: “That day I felt very good, but given how the stage turned out – it was shortened due to the protests – I had very little chance of winning.” The hope for the new year is therefore to triumph again: “I would be satisfied with this goal. To be the best one day, to feel those feelings again is something unique“.
