"It is going to leave our legs aching" - Santiago Buitrago notes stage 10 has a harsh reality-check after first rest day
Cycling
The undulating parcours of 2026 Vuelta a Espana's tenth stage promised a thrilling day of racing. And even though the finale did not disappoint in that regard, the vast majority of the day was raced in at a high pace, but without much action. Such turn of events did not surprise the mountains classification leader Santiago Buitrago.
The breakaway of the day set quickly after riders departed Alcaraz. A seven-rider group formed, but never gained a notable advantage over peloton which comfortably concluded their adventure with 5 kilometers to go, setting up a sprint for victory. That almost did not happen thanks to the attack of Yevgeniy Fedorov and Xabier Azparren, but ultimately it was Bastien Tronchon who celebrated his first Grand Tour stage win.
"We thought it was going to be tough for the breakaway; in the end, the breakaway got away quickly, but straight away the Visma | Lease a Bike team and the Cofidis team set a pace that the peloton found far from comfortable," the Bahrain - Victorious rider explained afterwards.
Rough welcome
To complete a stage with nearly 2,700 meters of elevation at an average speed of nearly 45 kph, that's not quite the warm welcome most riders had in mind for the first stage coming from rest day.
"It was a stage that is going to leave our legs aching – a good return to action in La Vuelta. Sometimes it’s hard to get back into the swing of things, but with stages like today’s, you get back into it quickly."
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As for Buitrago's position in the polka dot jersey, today's stage was of the calmer ones with not many point on offer, and the upcoming stage 11 won't be very different in that sense. Therefore, the Colombian can save his matches for Thursday's stage, featuring two category 1 mountain sprints.

Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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