The third and final Grand Tour of the 2026 men’s cycling season began in Monaco on Saturday. Tadej Pogačar made an impressive start to the Vuelta a España.
A total of 184 riders lined up for one of the toughest editions of the race. The route is also the steepest of the three Grand Tours this year.
Many riders arrived in Spain looking for a first stage win or a chance at redemption. Pogačar, riding for UAE Team Emirates XRG, has a bigger goal. He wants to follow his rival Jonas Vingegaard and complete the Grand Tour set.
Pogačar wins by 0.09 seconds
Stage one featured a 9.4-kilometre individual time trial. Several young riders started the Vuelta with aggressive performances.
Decathlon CMA CGM showed its strength early in the stage. Jordan Labrosse, Sander De Pestel, Oscar Chamberlain and Léo Bisiaux all topped the time sheets at different points.
Visma–Lease a Bike rider Matthew Brennan also held the lead for a period. Tudor Pro Cycling’s Arthur Kluckers and Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe’s Callum Thornley also challenged for the top spot.
Netherlands-based team Ineos Grenadiers then moved Josh Tarling into first place. His performance carried extra emotion after the recent death of his brother Finlay in a racing accident.
Tarling eventually lost the lead to Soudal–Quick-Step’s Ethan Hayter. The British national time-trial champion completed the course in under 11 minutes.
Pogačar then produced a dramatic finish. He beat Hayter by just 0.09 seconds to win the stage and take his first maillot rojo, the Vuelta’s red leader’s jersey.
“It’s a weird feeling to win the opening time trial by such a small margin. I was not expecting it, and this red is a really nice colour,” Pogačar said after the race.
The Slovenian also knows that keeping the red jersey will be difficult.
“It’s going to be tight for the red jersey and we can see some shuffling in the GC,” he added.
Brennan produces debut sprint masterclass
Pogačar started stage two in the red jersey. However, Visma–Lease a Bike quickly showed its tactical strength.
The riders faced a 214.3-kilometre route from Monaco to Manosque in France. A group of early attackers created the first breakaway of the Vuelta a España 2026.
Visma then increased the pace to support Wout van Aert. Lidl–Trek also helped chase the breakaway.
The gap stayed around two minutes for much of the stage. It later fell below 12 seconds before the bonus sprint.
Hayter broke away from the other attackers to chase six bonus seconds. Van Aert took four seconds.
The peloton eventually closed the gap. Van Aert then launched an attack with two kilometres remaining.
Pogačar immediately responded and followed Van Aert. Alessandro Romele of XDS Astana later joined them.
The peloton caught the three riders inside the final kilometre. Visma quickly changed its plan and prepared Brennan for the sprint.
Brennan delivered. The British rider attacked late to claim his first Grand Tour stage victory on his debut at this level.
Visma chasing redemption in Spain
Brennan explained that Visma originally planned to put Van Aert in contention for the red jersey.
“We started off with the ambition of Wout trying to get in the red jersey. There was a nice opportunity to attack in the finale and Wout was really keen to do that,” Brennan said after the race.
The team also prepared a second plan. Brennan would contest the sprint if Van Aert’s attack failed.
“We had that plan and then I was always going to be in the background to do the sprint in case that kind of settled,” Brennan continued.
That plan worked perfectly. The riders allowed the attackers to slow down before Christophe Laporte helped Brennan move through the crowded finale.
“And that’s exactly what happened. The guys sat up in front, and Christophe [Laporte] did a great job guiding me through the hecticness,” Brennan said.
“I’m super happy to finish it off.”
Van Aert vs Pogačar vs Roglič?
Visma arrived at the Vuelta with confidence after Jonas Vingegaard won last year’s edition. However, the team also wants to recover from a difficult Tour de France campaign.
Vingegaard crashed and left the Tour de France last month. His absence disrupted Visma’s plans for the race.
The Vuelta also marks Van Aert’s return to the Spanish Grand Tour. His last appearance ended with a serious crash in 2024.
That crash affected Visma’s hopes and took a physical and mental toll on Van Aert.
The Belgian now has a chance to find redemption in Spain. However, he faces a difficult challenge against Pogačar and former Visma teammate Primož Roglič.
Roglič is also chasing history. The Slovenian veteran wants to win his fifth Vuelta a España title.
The opening stages have already created an exciting battle. Pogačar has shown his time-trial strength, while Visma has demonstrated its tactical depth.
With Roglič also in contention, the Vuelta a España 2026 could develop into one of the most competitive Grand Tours of the season.
YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN: Current Ebola outbreak in DR Congo on track to become ‘deadliest’ in history
