thecyclingdane

Stage 12 from Vera to Calar Alto delivered another brutal day in the mountains, with Jakob Omrzel producing a stunning solo ride from the breakaway to take his first Grand Tour stage victory. But behind him, Enric Mas delivered the biggest statement of the day in the GC battle.

The red jersey attacked on the final climb, putting time into Primož Roglič and Félix Gall and extending his overall lead to 1:45 over Roglič and 2:06 over Gall.

In this Stage 12 recap, we break down Mas's attack, Movistar's impressive team performance, Roglič's response, Omrzel's breakthrough victory and what it all means for the fight for the Vuelta red jersey.

The Vuelta is opening up — and Enric Mas is taking control.

The 21-year-old Brit takes his third stage victory of the 2026 Vuelta a España, beating Bryan Coquard and Jordi Meeus in a chaotic sprint finish in Lorca. It was another brilliant display from Team Visma | Lease a Bike, with Wout van Aert once again playing a crucial role in setting up his young teammate.

Stage 11 took the peloton 153.8km from Cartagena to Lorca on what looked like a straightforward day for the sprinters. But the threat of crosswinds kept the racing nervous, while two breakaway attempts were eventually brought back. Ethan Hayter and Lawrence Warbasse spent much of the latter part of the stage up the road before being caught ahead of the Alto de Aledo.

The Alto de Aledo was the day's only classified climb, coming with around 32km to go, but it wasn't enough to prevent the sprinters from fighting for the win. After the descent, Visma rebuilt its lead-out train, and Van Aert once again delivered Brennan into the perfect position for the final sprint.

Meanwhile, there was no change at the top of the GC, with Enric Mas retaining the red jersey ahead of Primož Roglič. With the sprint stages now giving way to the mountains, the Vuelta is about to get serious again.

We break down Brennan's incredible run of victories, Visma's tactics, Van Aert's role, the sprint in Lorca and what Stage 11 means for the GC battle heading into the next mountain stages.

Wout van Aert looked like the man to beat heading into the finale of Stage 10 of the 2026 Vuelta a España — but once again, victory slipped away from the Belgian.

After 184.7km from Alcaraz to Elche de la Sierra, the stage came down to a chaotic uphill sprint, with Bastien Tronchon producing a huge surprise to take the win, ahead of Magnus Cort and Thibau Nys.

So what happened to Wout? Was he simply beaten, did the finale not suit him, or did Visma | Lease a Bike get the tactics wrong?

In this episode, we break down the chaotic finish, Tronchon's breakthrough victory, Wout van Aert's near miss, Magnus Cort's strong ride and what it all means as the Vuelta heads into the next stages.

We also look at the GC situation, with Enric Mas continuing to defend the red jersey, and ask whether Wout still has a realistic chance of finally taking a stage win at this Vuelta.

It has been an absolutely chaotic week in cycling.

Tadej Pogačar’s Vuelta a España came to a shocking end after a heavy crash, with the world champion forced to abandon the race. We look at what happened, what it means for the rest of his season, and how his absence could change the Vuelta.

Meanwhile, the transfer market is heating up. Primož Roglič is being linked with a new team, Paul Magnier is reportedly on the move, and several major transfers have now been officially confirmed. We break down the biggest moves and what they could mean for the 2027 season.

And there is plenty of future-star action to discuss. Lorenzo Finn absolutely dominated the Tour de l’Avenir, putting in another huge performance and strengthening his reputation as one of the most exciting young riders in the sport.

Plus, Tom Pidcock is a mountain bike world champion once again, adding another major title to his already extraordinary palmarès.

All that, plus the biggest stories from across the cycling world, in this week's Race Week.

Enric Mas has delivered a huge statement on the Alto de Aitana, winning Stage 9 of the Vuelta a España 2026 and strengthening his grip on the red jersey just one day after Tadej Pogačar's dramatic abandonment. Mas attacked in the final kilometres of the brutal 187.4km mountain stage and held off Oscar Onley, with Primož Roglič finishing third.

In this Vuelta a España 2026 Stage 9 Race Recap & Analysis, we break down an incredible day in the mountains, featuring more than 5,000 metres of climbing and the return of the legendary Alto de Aitana. Mas showed he wasn't simply inheriting the red jersey from Pogačar, taking responsibility in the finale and producing one of the biggest victories of his career.

We look at Oscar Onley's breakthrough performance, Primož Roglič's fight for a fifth Vuelta title, Felix Gall's aggressive racing and the new-look GC battle following Pogačar's exit. Mas now leads Roglič by 1:18, with Gall a further 21 seconds behind.

After Pogačar's incredible dominance earlier in the race, the Vuelta has suddenly been transformed into a completely open Grand Tour. Can Enric Mas hold onto the red jersey all the way to Granada?

Stage 7 of the Vuelta a España 2026 saw Andreas Leknessund take a huge solo victory at Aramón Valdelinares, with teammate Tobias Johannessen completing an emotional Uno-X one-two. Wout van Aert rounded out the podium after playing a key role in the breakaway.

Behind them, Tadej Pogačar once again showed his strength, accelerating on the final climb to extend his advantage in the general classification. He now leads Enric Mas by 3:50, with Primož Roglič further behind in third.

We break down the stage, Leknessund's breakthrough victory, Pogačar's latest display of dominance and what it means for the GC battle heading into the next mountain stages.

Stage 6 delivered one of the most dramatic finales of the race so far, with Pogačar going head-to-head with Enric Mas on the brutal Puerto El Bartolo before a chaotic gravel section and dangerous descent into Castellón.

Mas looked capable of taking a huge victory, but Pogačar fought back and produced another incredible sprint to claim his third stage win of the 2026 Vuelta. The victory also extends his advantage in the red jersey to 3 minutes 34 seconds.

In this episode, we break down Pogačar vs Mas, the gravel climb, the terrifying descent, the tactics from UAE Team Emirates-XRG and what this latest victory means for the GC battle.

Vuelta a España 2026 Stage 6 — full race recap and analysis.

Matthew Brennan took another impressive victory, but the story behind the result was the incredible lead-out from his Visma | Lease a Bike teammates. We break down how the team controlled the finale, positioned Brennan perfectly and delivered him to the line for another Vuelta stage win.

In this episode, we analyse the final kilometres, Brennan’s sprint, Visma | Lease a Bike’s tactics and what this victory says about one of the most exciting young sprinters in the peloton. We also look at the GC battle, with Tadej Pogačar continuing to hold the red jersey as the Vuelta moves towards the next major tests.

Tadej Pogačar has blown the 2026 Vuelta a España wide open! In Stage 4, the Slovenian produced an incredible 50-kilometre solo attack through Andorra, turning a brutally short 104.8-kilometre mountain stage into a one-man exhibition. Pogačar attacked on the Collada de Beixalís and never looked back, eventually arriving in Andorra la Vella with a huge advantage over his rivals.

We break down exactly how Pogačar destroyed the competition, why UAE Team Emirates-XRG decided to race so aggressively, and how the likes of Primož Roglič, Enric Mas, João Almeida and the rest of the GC contenders responded. We also look at Jarno Widar's impressive second place, Felix Gall completing the podium, and what this result means for the overall Vuelta standings.

There is also plenty of history to discuss, with Pogačar returning to Andorra seven years after taking his first-ever Grand Tour stage victory at Cortals d'Encamp during the 2019 Vuelta. This time, however, he returned as the race favourite and produced one of the most aggressive performances of his career.

We also discuss the impact of Stage 3's cancellation because of the severe hailstorm at Font-Romeu, and whether the lost mountain stage could ultimately make Pogačar's early dominance even more significant.

Pogačar is already 3:21 clear in red. Is the Vuelta already his to lose?

Stage 3 of the Vuelta a España 2026 was supposed to deliver the first major mountain showdown of the race, but instead ended in extraordinary scenes as a huge hailstorm forced the peloton to stop with just 15 km remaining.

We break down the bizarre finish, Tadej Pogačar’s role in bringing the race to a halt, the brutal weather conditions and why the organisers ultimately had no choice but to cancel the stage. With no winner declared and the GC standings unchanged, Pogačar keeps the red jersey heading into Stage 4.

We also look at what the cancellation means for the Vuelta and whether Pogačar’s first real mountain battle has simply been delayed until Andorra.