"It was my plan to attack there" - Only Pogacar comes in the way of Wout Van Aert's red jersey plans
Cycling
The second day of the Vuelta a España delivered a lot of action in the finale, with a fresh peloton heading towards a technical uphill finale in Manosque. Wout Van Aert aimed to get in the red jersey, but his late attack was chased down by Tadej Pogacar himself.
Wout Van Aert's plan to attack
Visma had a double plan for stage 2 of the race. Whilst Matthew Brennan is a sprinter that can handle the climbs, the team could also rely on Wout Van Aert who specializes in such explosive finales. Having both riders contest the sprint or be used as leadouts was potentially not the most useful way against rivals such as Mads Pedersen and Tadej Pogacar, but a proper plan was put into action.
Visma didn't have depth in the twists and turns of the ascent to Manosque, the first hilltop finish of the race. But in a sharp hairpin corner leading to a small steep ramp, Van Aert attacked with 2 kilometers to go. "It was my plan to attack there," Van Aert admitted in a post-race interview. The Visma rider quickly built a gap but behind, the red jersey himself was chasing him down.
Their first race together since the 2026 Paris-Roubaix, and the two were in the spotlight once again. But this time around, Pogacar didn't work with the Belgian, and the move was shut down shortly after.
"I had too small of a margin on Tadej so I waited a little bit on the top. When I knew he didn't want to give me a turn I always knew Matthew was there to do a sprint like this where he is also amazing".
The tactic proved to be perfect in the end, with Brenna taking the win in the final sprint, against a few riders including a Pogacar that had to burn matches to follow Van Aert to begin with. "That worked out pretty well, so I'm pretty proud of the boys".
Tadej Pogacar chasing Wout Van Aert in the finale of stage 2 of the 2026 Vuelta a España
Read also
Van Aert's move key for Brennan's victory
Van Aert, in the flat bunch sprints, should be a leadout man for the Briton - whilst he should get his own opportunities in some of the hilly stages. Today, both managed to show their legs, but the finale was to end in a sprint. Brennan beat Pau Miquel, Pogacar and Mads Pedersen with a dominant triumph.
Despite this being Brennan's first road stage in a Grand Tour, Van Aert is hardly surprised by his 21-year old teammate. "Because of his age it's a surprise, but because of what he showed already it's almost a normal I would say," he concluded. "He's super strong and he showed it today on one of the biggest races. So it's really nice".
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- the headline is poorly written too. it makes it sound like their plan is to simply wait until he stops.mij13-11-2026
- 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
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