"It was my plan to attack there" - Only Pogacar comes in the way of Wout Van Aert's red jersey plans
CyclingSunday, 23 August 2026 at 18:19
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.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
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)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Lol that's the best clickbait cyclinguptodate have put on here for some time. Like a moth to a flame....Cyclingsbestfan23-08-2026
- It may be better suited to vingegaard that explosive stages, but it doesn't mean better for him than pogacar. Tadej has been there better climber since 2024, and the 2 stages he "cracked" both had other circumstances. Stage 17, 2023, Tadej was dropped not by vingegaard, but by a group of 8 led by ineos, uncharacteristically 7 miles from the summit, after he fell hard early that stage, long after adrenaline wears off. Stage 11, 2022, Tadej famously was isolated by 5 jumbo riders, and unwisely chased countless attacks in the valley by roglic and jonas before getting dropped on final mountain, by jonas and Geraint, and many argue he bonked. It would be different if Jonas simply rode him of the wheel on long step climbs 1 on1, but that has rarely ever happened.typurc23-08-2026
- They also give the results of all the CX races... but only as there are no road races then
Rafionain-Glas23-08-2026 - good luck to your guy at Worlds next week!OCexile23-08-2026
- Winning MSR, flanders x3, 2 wc, and 2x 2nd at roubaix, I is obvious that if the course doesn't suit Tadej, he just changes how it is raced. This also isn't 2022 where Jumbo has 5 to climbers and Tadej's only support was Marc Soler.typurc23-08-2026
- i get it. but bear in mind that cyclinguptodate is fundamentally a ROAD RACING site. it more or less ONLY covers mtb when either pidcock or van der poel are racing. same with gravel. but i’m sure there are mountain bike sites that will give your guy from red bull his due for the big win today.OCexile23-08-2026
- its getting out of hand i gotte agree.miguel23-08-2026
- its getting a bit out of hand the excuses every year i have to agree.miguel23-08-2026
- If the upcoming stages were flat, Pogi would probably have intentionally let go of the red jersey to avoid all the responsibilities. But now there's so much bait lying around for him in the next several stages, might as well just keep red.Ride197423-08-2026
- Yeah, but it's disproportionate. He is not facing random riders. The article gives the impression that Boichis won by fluke P.S I am a Red Bull fan so take this with a pinch of saltRafionain-Glas23-08-2026
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