“I took the red jersey here, in Andorra... it's perfect for him” - Former Vuelta winner Fabio Aru backs Tadej Pogacar to take control in first mountain showdown
CyclingTuesday, 25 August 2026 at 14:30
Fabio Aru has backed Tadej Pogacar to seize the first real mountain opportunity of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana on terrain that transformed his own race 11 years ago.
The 2015 winner returns to Andorra as a Vuelta ambassador with vivid memories of taking the red jersey there, and believes Tuesday's stage is made for the current race leader.
Pogacar arrives in Andorra already in red after winning the opening time trial in Monaco. Monday's first planned summit finish at Font Romeu was completely cancelled when extreme weather brought stage 3 to a halt, with no times or classification points retained, leaving the 104.8-kilometre stage 4 as the first genuine mountain showdown between the overall contenders.
For Aru, the setting immediately brings his own Vuelta-winning campaign back into focus. Speaking to Marca, the Italian recalled the day he first moved into red in Andorra before explaining why he believes the 2026 race leader is ideally suited to Tuesday's stage.
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Aru returns to scene of 2015 red jersey breakthrough
“Yes, I have very good memories because I took the red jersey here, in Andorra,” Aru recalled. “It was a super-hard stage, with 5,000 metres of climbing. Today is also a very hard stage. The sun is out, the weather is good and it’s going to be a very fast stage.”
That 2015 stage remains one of the defining days of Aru's career. Stage 11 featured six categorised climbs and around 5,000 metres of elevation gain across just 138 kilometres, with Astana teammate Mikel Landa winning at Cortals d'Encamp while Aru finished second and took the race lead.
Aru emerged from the day 27 seconds clear of Joaquim Rodriguez and 30 seconds ahead of previous leader Tom Dumoulin. He did not keep red all the way to Madrid, however. Rodriguez briefly took over before Dumoulin reclaimed the jersey in the stage 17 time trial, leaving Aru six seconds behind the Dutchman ahead of the penultimate stage.
Astana then broke the race open on the road to Cercedilla. Dumoulin was dropped on the Puerto de la Morcuera and eventually lost almost four minutes to Aru, who reclaimed red and went on to secure his first and only Grand Tour victory by 57 seconds over Rodriguez.
Asked to remember how he handled mountain days of that severity at his best, Aru was less interested in romanticising them. “Suffering, like I always did during my career. I had to suffer a lot. Sometimes I managed to get good results, other times less so, but I learned an enormous amount from this world.”
Fabio Aru celebrates winning La Vuelta
“Today is a perfect stage for him”
Pogacar begins his first mountain test of this Vuelta from a very different position: already leading the race and still without having been seriously tested uphill after the cancellation of stage 3.
“I think we know what Tadej has shown,” Aru said. “He came to this Vuelta as the main favourite and he won the time trial. He wants to win here, at La Vuelta, and today is a perfect stage for him. My favourite for today is Tadej and we’ll see what happens.”
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Stage 4 squeezes around 3,000 metres of climbing into 104.8 kilometres around Andorra la Vella. The Port d'Envalira, Collada de Beixalis and Col de Ordino are all first-category climbs before the late Alto de La Comella, whose summit comes less than five kilometres from the finish.
Pogacar starts the day 26 seconds ahead of four-time Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic, with the cancelled Font Romeu stage having denied the main GC contenders their first chance to test one another in the mountains. For Aru, returning to the place where his own successful Vuelta challenge first moved into red, Andorra now offers Pogacar the chance to make the first major move of the 2026 race.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- I assumed that even before the start of the Vuelta.MajorPayne25-08-2026
- I can't believe someone made me like Mou's post! You are truly special!MajorPayne25-08-2026
- What's boring is people complaining.Hills3325-08-2026
- Don't watch cycling... watch bowling, curling, dart throwing or chess...PogiSloFans25-08-2026
- Personally? We're over seeing this guy at the top EVERY freaking time {Lance Armstrong double?}. BORING!! PLEASE 🙏, give us some NEW hopefuls to get behind!!!f9ers5525-08-2026
- Pretty amazing since the race was in Monaco.zaz25-08-2026
- Wonder who is on the list of the best riders ever that are not proven dopers...Staal25-08-2026
- People win GTs by 2 mins which is considered a comfortable margin, Pogi is taking 3 mins in a stage, same like the TDF, GC over in a single stage. Now in training mode for the WCabstractengineer25-08-2026
- You can think whatever you want to and only Pogi knows what is important to him. But until someone else wins 7 or more Tours Armstrong still holds the title for the most. It doesn't matter if he was stripped of them for doping he still won them and against other people that were doping. And the UCI knows it that is why they didn't just give the titles to the second place finisher.Hc222825-08-2026
- And your tomorrow has become today, and yes, at this moment Pogi is 3:12 up on everyone.PogiSloFans25-08-2026
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