Tadej Pogacar got the better of Enric Mas (Movistar) in Castello to take his third stage win in La Vuelta 26. The Slovenian superstar equals his 2019 tally, when he stunned the world with an impressive Grand Tour debut in Spain. But he proves to be much more dominant this year, wearing La Roja from day 1 after his opening success in Monaco. In 2019, his first victory came on stage 9 and his third on stage 20. This time, he has won three of the first six stages, a feat not seen since Oscar Freire in 2007. The Slovenian icon had dropped everyone with 24 kilometres to go… But he was caught by Mas just before the final summit of the day. Pogacar even survived a near-miss on the final downhill. The two strongest climbers of the day collaborated until the finale, where Pogacar had the strongest kick to become the first rider with three stage wins in the first stages since Oscar Freire in 2007. Mas is now second overall (+3’34’’), ahead of Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), who trails by 4’21’’.
Onto fresh climbing challenges! After Matthew Brennan’s second sprint success in Roquetes, the peloton of La Vuelta 26 face four categorised climbs, including the cat. 1 Puerto El Bartolo, from Alcossebre to Castello (177.5 km, 3,094m of elevation). The day is packed with climbing - 4 categorised ascents in total - and the final ascents the day features a 1.9 km gravel section as well as gradients up to 20%. Attackers feel this may be their first opportunity to upset the peloton.
A demanding battle for the breakaway
The first part of the stage is marked by a flurry of attacks. Winner in Alcossebre in La Vuelta 17, Alexey Lutsenko (NSN) wants a last dance after he confirmed at the start this his last season before retiring. The Kazakh star opens a gap at km 16 and is joined at the front by one of youngest talent in La Vuelta 26, France’s Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA CGM). The battle for the breakaway rages on behind them. Walter Calzoni (Pinarello Q36.5) eventually manages to bridge the gap, but the peloton catch the lead trio immediately afterwards (km 33).
The climb up the Puerto de la Serratella (cat. 2, km 44.6) is not enough for the attackers to make the difference. Onto the following ascent, Coll de la Bandereta (cat. 3, km 66.1), George Bennett (NSN), Andreas Kron (Uno-X Mobility) and Gijs Leemreize (Picnic PostNL) open a gap. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) bridges the gap right before the summit.
The breakaway is consolidated on the following valley, with 12 more attackers joining the lead group: Carlos Canal (Movistar), Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Thomas Gloag (Pinarello Q36.5), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Patrick Konrad (Lidl-Trek), Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Gianmarco Garofoli (Soudal Quick-Step), Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost), Hannes Wilksch (Tudor), José Manuel Diaz (Burgos Burpellet BH), Lars Craps (Lotto Intermarché), and Urko Berrade (Kern Pharma).
Mas can with Pogacar’s attack
Debruyne is the main GC threat at the front. The Belgian youngster started the day in 12th position with a gap of 4’44’’. Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Emirates XRG set the pace in the bunch. The gap never gets higher than 2’40’’ up the Alto del Desierto de las Palmas (cat. 2, km 128.5), where Van Aert is dropped from the breakaway. The Belgian previously took 20 points at the intermediate sprint (km 120.1).
The race explodes on the final ascent up Puerto El Bartolo. Debruyne sets the pace at the front and enters the gravel section alone. Behind him, Tadej Pogacar distances his rival. He catches and drops the Belgian youngster 3 kilometres from the summit. Is the Slovenian off to another spectacular solo, this time over 24 kilometres? Enric Mas (Movistar) emerges from the chase group and catches him just before the summit!
The lead duo start the downhill with a gap of 30 seconds to Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Debruyne.
Pogacar dominates Mas
Pogacar goes off road as he misses a turn on the downhill. Fortunately, it’s no more than a scare for the Slovenian, who rapidly gets back to Mas. Into the final 10 kilometres, the three chasers have brought the gap down to 15 seconds, while Oscar Onley (Netcompany Ineos) is losing over a minute.
Mas and Pogacar collaborate all the way to the final kilometre. Behind them, the three chasers are caught by Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and Harold Tejada (XDS Astana). Pogacar outsprints Mas to take his third La Vuelta 26 stage win and strengthen his grip on La Roja. Debruyne finishes third with a gap f46 seconds.
