Orangeville, Ont.’s Luke Valenti started the season off with a bang, taking overall victory at the Sanroma Memorial in Spain that ended Sunday.
It was a three-day stage race, and gave his new Spanish squad a win in its first outing of 2026. Valenti, winner of the 2023 Tour de Beauce, spent the past two seasons with Israel-Premier Tech Academy (now NSN Cycling) before joining Club Ciclista Padrónes–Cortizo for 2026.
“My agent and I were looking for a team in Spain, and we found Cortizo. It seemed the most organized, so we thought it was a good choice,” he said of the move.
His build-up to the race was less than smooth. Heavy rain disrupted training and forced the cancellation of the team’s planned opener in Portugal, leaving La Mancha as both a season debut and an early test ahead of next weekend’s Spanish Cup round in Don Benito.
The three-day race was tough with some of the gusty weather. It also meant being attentive the whole time, Valenti said. The Canadian was 6th twice, and fifth once—enough to secure the overall.
“The race was pretty tricky, more tricky than expected. A lot more time in the break, way than expected, every single day I was in the break for probably more than 60km, 70km each day,” he said. “There’s a lot more riding in front than usual, lots of wind. In this area of Spain, it’s all open. There’s mainly crosswinds so you have to always stay in the front. You always want to be on the right side of every split.”
His team was active throughout, with Maksym Bilyi, Martin Solhaug and Valenti covering key moves across the three stages.
With crosswinds and two climbs of the Alto de Hortezuelas set to decide the race, the general classification remained tight heading into the finale. Valenti started the last stage level on time with leader Joan Roca.
The decisive move came with 60 km to go. Solhaug slipped into the break, and Valenti bridged across shortly after. The move stuck to the line. Hugo Pradas took the stage win in the sprint, while Valenti sealed the overall title. Solhaug and Bilyi both placed in the top six, securing the team classification for Cortizo.
Valenti will be focusing on the Spanish Cup series which runs until the middle of May.
“It’s a series with ten one-day races, and whoever has the most points at the end wins the series,” he said. “It’s a big deal here so I hope to continue to do well.”