Alex Méndez dressed as leader in the first stage of the Vuelta al Táchira in -Bicicleta

Published at: 09/01/2026 06:22 PM

The Venezuelan cyclist Arlex Méndez wins the opening day of the International Bicycle Tour of Táchira, accompanied by Nicolás Gómez to the finish line in Socopó, Barinas state, so starting tomorrow he will wear the manillot as leader of the Andean tour.

The 61st edition of the Vuelta al Táchira kicked off this Friday with the first of the ten stages that make up the event, which started from the city of San Cristóbal, in the state of Táchira, to the town of Socopó, in Barinas on a first route totaling 214.1 kilometers.

In this edition, the “grande” tour of America regains the format of ten episodes, a test rated 2.2 by the International Cycling Union.

It also has the staging of 120 riders and four international teams from Colombia, Bolivia and Mexico, together with the traditional national teams.

The route won a single mountain prize at the height of 34 kilometers, in Alto de Santo Domingo, and a flat surface will predominate in the remaining 174 km.

In addition, four sprints were contested, two of them qualifying at 79.4 km and 104.7 km away.

The jerseys to be delivered will be differentiated by colors: general (yellow), by stage (white), best combative (red polka dots), best in the mountains (green), by dots (red), in the sprint (blue), under-23 (fuchsia), best in Tachirense (blue polka dots), best foreign (black dots) and best combined (yellow, green and red dots), this last section will be the first time it will be delivered.

Mazo News Team