First stage, first victory for Tadej Pgoacar (UAE Emirates XRG), who takes the first leader’s jersey for the first time in a Grand Tour. A Monaco resident, the Slovenian icon made the most of his knowledge of the terrain, explosive speed and technical skills to narrowly edge Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) in the opening individual time trial of La Vuelta 26. Both of them averaged 51.5 km/h, covering the 9.4 km with a time of 10’57’’, but Pogacar takes his 36th Grand Tour stage win, the 4th at La Vuelta, by a margin of 0.09 second! He finishes ahead of three British riders, with Josh Tarling (+4’’) and Callum Thornley (+5’’) close behind, and follows in the footsteps of his compatriot Primoz Roglic, winner of the opening ITT of La Vuelta in 2021. This is also the first time Pogacar takes La Roja as the overall leader of the Spanish Grand Tour.
For the seventh time in 81 editions, and the fourth time in five years, La Vuelta is setting off from outside Spain. After Lisbon (1997 and 2024), Assen (2009), Nîmes (2017), Utrecht (2022) and Piemonte (2025), it is now Monaco’s turn as the Principality becomes the first town to have hosted the start of the three Grand Tours.
It does so with a 9.4 km individual time trial that echoes the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2009. At the time, Fabian Cancellara powered to the first Maillot Jaune. The most powerful riders of La Vuelta 26 gear to follow in his track on a course that passes by some of the most emblematic landmarks of Monaco and the F1 Grand Prix organised every year in the Principality.
First benchmarks
Diego Uriarte (Kern Pharma) gets the action going at 16:17. He’s the first of 184 riders participating in La Vuelta 26, and the first of 61 rookies making their debut in the Spanish Grand Tour.
Jordan Labrosse (Decathlon CMA CGM) makes the most of his power and technical skills to set the first benchmark: 11’20’’. The French youngster stays in the hot seat until he is edged out by his teammate Sander De Pestel (11’15’’) and then an even younger rider, Great Britain’s rising star Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike). The sprinter flies through the corners to set a time of 11’13’’.
Bisiaux, Thornley, Tarling… Youngsters rise to the occasion
Technique and explosive speed prove essential as the times get faster and faster. Arthur Kluckers (Tudor) is no less than 5 seconds faster than Brennan. But that’s not enough to hold off Oscar Chamberlain (Decathlon CMA CGM), a former Junior ITT world champion and a Monaco resident. His time of 11’06’’ resists for about twenty minutes, until another Decathlon CMA CGM youngster, Léo Bisiaux, goes 0.75 second faster.
Moments later, Scotland’s rising force Callum Thornley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) finishes strong to take the best time with a margin of three seconds.
The intensity and the emotions rise when Josh Tarling (Netcompany Ineos) stands at the start. The British powerhouse is arguably the best ITT talent of the field, but he lost his younger brother Finlay Tarling a week ago in a tragic race accident. The family announced his grandfather also passed away just ahead of the start. The circumstances don’t prevent Tarling from taking the best time: 11’01’’ (51.2 km/h).
Pogacar edges Hayter
Another British specialist impresses as Ethan Hayter (Soudan Quick-Step), the national ITT champion, is the first rider to cover the 9.4 km in under 11 minutes: 10’57’’. Three British rouleurs occupy the three first positions of the stage… But Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG) flies ahead of them as he takes the best time with a margin of 0.09 second!
The Slovenian icon secures his 4th La Vuelta stage win, and his first La Roja. He had never led a Grand Tour after the opening stage (he waited for stage 2 at the Tour 2024 and the Giro 2024). But the ambition is to have it in Granada, three weeks from now.
