{"id":206147,"date":"2026-08-28T13:47:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:47:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=206147"},"modified":"2026-08-28T13:47:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:47:35","slug":"pogacar-wins-two-of-three-stages-at-la-vuelta-including-his-longest-grand-tour-solo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/08\/28\/pogacar-wins-two-of-three-stages-at-la-vuelta-including-his-longest-grand-tour-solo\/","title":{"rendered":"Poga\u010dar Wins Two of Three Stages at La Vuelta, Including His Longest Grand Tour Solo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three stages, two Tadej Poga\u010dar wins. The beat goes on as the UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG leader seems well on his way to a record-breaking performance on the only Grand Tour he has not yet won.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Longest solo Grand Tour victory<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Following the cancelled stage 3, Poga\u010dar put on a spectacular one-man show for spectators on Tuesday’s stage 4, breaking away from the peloton on the second of four categorised climbs, the category 1 Collada dei Beixalis (6.5 km @ 8.5%), and riding the last 50.3 km unchallenged to the finish line, his longest-ever solo stage win in a Grand Tour race. The 20-year-old Belgian Jarno Widar (Lotto Intermarch\u00e9) outsprinted Felix Gall (Decathlon GMA GCA) and several other GC contenders to finish second, 2:39 behind.<\/p>\n

After four stages, with only three stages actually run, the road race world champion already led the race by 3:21, which is usually the winning margin of an entire Grand Tour race. The surprising Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d (Red Bull\u2013BORA\u2013hansgrohe) was in second, with another veteran, Movistar’s Enric Mas, third, at 3:32. It was a bad stage for GC hopefuls Richard Carapaz (EF Education\u2013EasyPost) and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), who finished 2:57 and 3:17 adrift, apparently still carrying fatigue in their legs from their efforts in the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Jay [Vine] let me pass on the wheel of Decathlon, I knew I didn’t want to be isolated against all the GC riders because they will all play against me,\u201d Poga\u010dar said. \u201cI tried with an attack on the climb and just hoped that I could survive until the finish when I saw that I could open the gap, and I did it. It was pretty tough, but beautiful out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

I think that this solo attack was either the plan from the start or was conceived while Decathlon was driving the peloton at a high pace. The reason I think so is that Poga\u010dar had only two teammates with him when the peloton reached the Collada dei Beixalis. I can’t imagine that they were all dropped by Decathlon’s speed. UAE would never let Poga\u010dar ride without sufficient support unless they decided he didn’t need it. I think the boys were told to relax and save their legs for later, bigger challenges.<\/p>\n

Asked if he was happy about the size of his lead, he said, \u201cI mean, any gap is more than enough. But, yeah, it’s super good because now I can be calm and confident for the next days. We just keep going day by day and focus on each day after this, because it will be a little bit less stressful for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if he wants to hold the red jersey for the rest of the race, Poga\u010dar said, \u201cI will say you never know, but now it’s a good gap. So we give our best to control it every day. But if it’s uncontrollable, you cannot control [it], and then we will have to fight. But it’s going to be tough. We have a really strong team here, so we are ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for young Widar, who is leading Lotto Intermarch\u00e9 in the race, he turned professional in February and surprised even himself with his podium finish and strong sprint after a hard stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not normal,\u201d he told Het Laatste Nieuws<\/a>. I\u2019m actually a bit surprised today, and I\u2019m incredibly proud of it. [\u2026] I had to come from behind with speed, and I succeeded. For my weight, I’m pretty fast at the finish. Finishing second after the best rider ever is not bad, is it?”<\/p>\n

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Zobrazit p\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek na Instagramu<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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P\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek sd\u00edlen\u00fd La Vuelta (@lavuelta)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n