Suddenly, the Vuelta a España is completely wide open. This year’s final grand tour was supposed to be all about Tadej Pogacar, a guy who’s been pretty much unbeatable recently. He hit the Vuelta for the first time since 2019, when he was just 20 and finished third overall. And yeah, Pogacar totally lived up to the hype, snagging three stage wins and looking comfy with a General Classification lead in the first week. Then Stage 8 happened. He crashed out, just like that. Nobody wanted to see it go down this way, but Pogacar’s exit? It blows the doors off this race, giving every other GC contender a real shot at that maillot rojo.
The Race for Red Is ON
With Pogacar out of the picture, this is now a brawl for the top spot. Who’s stepping up? You’ve got his countryman, Primoz Roglic, a four-time Vuelta champ who knows how to get it done. Then there’s Spanish veteran Enric Mas, who already showed he’s got fire, snatching Stage 9 on a brutal mountain climb. Don’t count out Richard Carapaz from Ecuador, young Brit Oscar Onley, or American Sepp Kuss either. These guys have been waiting for a chance like this. It’s gonna be a grinder over the next couple of weeks, and honestly, it makes for some must-watch cycling drama now that the presumed winner is sidelined.
How to Catch All the Action & The Route So Far
You wanna see who takes home the red jersey? Every stage of the 2026 Vuelta a España is live on Peacock, with Bob Roll and Christian Vande Velde giving you all the calls. If you prefer traditional TV, weekday stages are also airing on NBCSN, available through fubo and other providers. And seriously, fubo offers a free trial, so you can check it out without commitment. The Vuelta is a beast, 21 stages packed into 23 days. It kicked off in Monaco, rolled through France and Andorra, then hit Spain for Stage 5. So far, we’ve seen two individual time trials, including Pogacar’s win on Stage 1, and just four flat stages are on the docket, with two of those coming in the final week.
The race has already delivered some wild moments and unexpected twists. Pogacar dominated early, grabbing Stages 1, 4, and 6. Matthew Brennan also made his mark, winning the hilly Stage 2 and Stage 5. We had Andreas Leknessund take Stage 7, Bryan Coquard winning the flat Stage 8 right before Pogacar’s exit, and then Enric Mas pulling off that monster win on Stage 9. Bastien Tronchon snagged the hilly Stage 10 after the rest day.
Up next is Stage 11, coming at you today, September 2nd. It’s a flat stage, running 156.1 kilometers from Cartagena to Lorca. This is where the contenders really start making their moves, trying to gain any precious seconds or energy before the next big mountain climbs or that second ITT on Stage 18. Who’s going to make a statement? You definitely don’t want to miss it.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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