“I will remember every god-damn climb in this country” - Vuelta lanterne rouge admits he's 'not proud' of last place as he yearns to go home
Cycling
Mathias Norsgaard reaches the final day of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana with one overwhelming feeling: relief.
The 29-year-old Lidl-Trek rider sits 142nd and last in the general classification, 6:11:51 behind Enric Mas, after three weeks spent battling heat, repeated climbing and terrain that rarely played to his strengths.
“One of the hardest experiences in my life,” Norsgaard told TNT Sports before the start of Stage 21 in Granada. “I will remember every god-damn climb in this country. I will remember the heat, how people are riding like motorbikes even while I'm feeling like a completely shit rider, and still wake up every morning and do it all over again.”
“The last thing I wanted to do was ride my bike”
At 2.02 metres tall, Norsgaard has built his career as a powerful rouleur and time triallist rather than a climber. The former Danish national time-trial champion moved from Movistar to Lidl-Trek ahead of the 2026 season.
He had already started the Vuelta once before, lining up for Movistar in 2022 and making it through Stage 9 before failing to start the following day's individual time trial. Four years later, he is on course to reach the end of a Grand Tour for the first time.
Saturday's brutal Stage 20 left little enthusiasm for getting back on the bike the following morning. “After yesterday's hardest stage of them all it was such a relief,” Norsgaard said. “The last thing I wanted to do this morning was ride my bike. I just wanted to go home. I just want to be in Aarhus, take two or three days off completely and start training again. That's life. You can't stop when you want.”
The Vuelta has taken its toll across the peloton, with extreme heat and a punishing route contributing to a steady stream of abandonments. “A lot of my colleagues in the peloton had to stop this Vuelta due to extreme heat, due to extreme parcours, but I had to fight to get through my first Grand Tour.”
This time, unlike in 2022, Norsgaard has made it all the way to the final day.
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Nearly 50 minutes behind second-last
If completing the race offers satisfaction, finishing at the very bottom of the standings does not. “The lantern rouge is not one I'm proud to have, but there's 50 minutes between me and the next rider, Jordi Meeus,” Norsgaard admitted.
The gap is so large that even Norsgaard could see the funny side. “He could stop and have a nice bocadillo in Granada in a cafe and still finish in front of me.”
Barring any late change on Stage 21, Norsgaard will complete the 2026 Vuelta a Espana more than six hours behind the overall winner and almost 50 minutes behind Meeus, four years after his previous attempt at the race ended before Stage 10.
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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- It doesnt take a genius to understand that Pogi is 1 level above and Pogi is younger that Jonas, so Jonas will not win under ordinary circumstances. Pogi has to crack hard for Jonas to win. It doesn't matter whether you defend Jonas or not , facts remain facts. Jonas himself says his numbers are better than 2022/2023, so Jonas is more or less optimized and we are just see the stochastic variation due to other factors. I think he will retire along with Pedersen in WC denmarkabstractengineer13-11-2026
- They only raced each other during the 2026 Tour, but here's a few metrics to look at. Stage 3 (Granollers to Les Angles): Pogačar won the stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard (2nd). Del Toro finished 24 seconds behind Stage 6 (Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre / Col du Tourmalet): Pogačar won solo, Vingegaard finished 2nd (losing 2:38), and Del Toro finished 3rd (at +2:57, finishing 19 seconds behind Vingegaard). Here, Jonas Vingegaard outclimbed Isaac del Toro by 19 seconds on the mountain stageawp13-11-2026
- your clinging to the past. Jonas was dropped by del toro many times last year and jonas never managed a climbing numers del toro did in dauphine last year -entire year. Trend is also evident theres no discussion your living in the past, its beent he same with jonas for many years now and only developing, meanwhile del toro is rising and developing greatly. This is all obvious stuff and im not even a del toro fan. No point discussing numbers or this i suspect you dont watch much now but rather think its 2022 still cause this aint hard.miguel13-11-2026
- We can go through metrics if you like, Del Toro, who I do admire and support, is not on the same level as Jonas just yet. You will see that in early 2027 if they have any crossover races. I do hope they both race the Giro. You are correct though, Jonas is getting older and will not be able to hand on much longer. I see 2027 as a good year for him. Obviously behind Tadej though.awp13-11-2026
- What wins? Are you LA operating under a pseudonym?mij13-11-2026
- My point is this - Tadej, Remco, Seixas are all the outliers. Many riders don’t hit their peak until 28. It’s way too early to write him off. And the pogi slo guy that hates him - he’s also immature. Ayuso needs time.mij13-11-2026
- Then you need to use ur eyes or head if you have cause del toro already dropped jonas two times and beat him in tdf stages already this year.. Del toro climbed(dauphine) better numbers than jonas did all year too. So ur feelings and wishful thinking doesnt amtter del toro himself has already surpassed jonas infact just facts. Its also very evident for anyone objective that Jonas is declining alot, its just the truth and super obvious.miguel13-11-2026
- None of those victories stand, so there's that,wrsty13-11-2026
- No surprise there; it is British Sycling, yes, with an S
Rafionain-Glas12-11-2026 - I like Del Toro but he's not on the level of Jonas, by a large margin.awp12-11-2026
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