"It's been 13 long years" - Bryan Coquard finally celebrates his first Grand Tour stage win after many near-misses
CyclingSunday, 30 August 2026 at 01:00
The number 13 seems to have been enchanted with destiny for Bryan Coquard. After 13 seasons in professional peloton, during his 13th Grand Tour participation, the Frenchman celebrates his first Grand Tour stage win at the 2026 Vuelta a Espana, one decade after his best season during which he had won 13 races.
The eighth stage of 2026 Vuelta a Espana was impacted by many crashes, but seemingly all sprinters reached the stage finale unscathed. And so, a bunch sprint produced the winner in Xeraco. Matthew Brennan, Jordi Meeus and Mads Pedersen were the main favourites, but the pocket sprinter from Cofidis shocked everyone when he jumped out of Meeus' wheel with 100 meters to go and passed Pedersen on the line.
"I think 13 years," Coquard said when reminded how long the wait had been. "It’s a lot of work. I finished second a lot of times in Grand Tours. I’m 34 years old now, so I’m very proud and very happy."
Unlike in many of his previous attempts, Coquard found himself in a perfect launching zone today - in the wheel of 20 centimeters taller Jordi Meeus, he was properly protected from the headwind which took its toll on many sprinters.
"My team did a perfect job," he said. "We don’t have a lot of lead-out men, so all the climbers tried to bring me into a good position with five kilometres to go. After that I just followed Alexis [Renard]."
"I saw Jordi Meeus and I knew he was very fast in this type of finish," Coquard explained. "I waited. I knew there was a little cross headwind, and in the city it was more of a headwind. I made my effort at the right moment, with the slipstream."
Can't afford to miss opportunities like this
It is not rare for the Spanish Grand Tour to not suit traditional sprinters - and the 2026 edition is no different in that regard. The only two "true" sprint opportunties will be stages 16 and 17 - any other chances are purely at the mercy of GC teams and breakaways not blowing up some of the more transitional stages.
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That is why to do well on stage 8 was as important: "When you don’t do a good sprint, it’s one opportunity less," Coquard said. "You don’t have a lot of opportunities for sprinters in this Vuelta. I wasn’t in a good position in the first two sprints, but I knew I had good legs. I waited a long time for this victory and I worked a lot for it. It’s an amazing, amazing day."
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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- I like stats, as is clear to anyone who regularly reads my posts. Three monuments and a grand tour, with 22 wins including two major GC races and Strade Bianchi, makes for one of the best seasons any rider has ever had. It’s sad that it has to end so soon. May have a speedy and healthy recovery.RidesHills30-08-2026
- looking at PCS, he's now got nothing on his upcoming program, WC, CC, IL all removed.wrsty30-08-2026
- A random accident causes that much damage?! Wow. Vertebrae fractures are rare, and this might be his season.RidesHills30-08-2026
- Sexais at home on the sofa like "yes! i'm still in with a chance"wrsty30-08-2026
- Can someone please do a welfare check on Mou as he's probably cried all the water out of his body, hugging his Pogi waifu pillowwrsty30-08-2026
- Coming from an ex-yankee ! You just confirm your clown status!frieders330-08-2026
- This dude truly mailed in...for a moment i thought he made a mistake meaning to write Felix Gall o Ricitello (not that he is in contention) but then again near the end of the article...uff!...this is just deplorable journalism.Zone0Rider30-08-2026
- alternative truths reach professional cycling 🤦Ketterechts29-08-2026
- I hope he has a complete recovery. Speedy would be welcomed but secondary and not important. He needs to take his time because the crash was brutal and mean. God bless that he was not paralyzed with a fractured C7, that if dislocated could have crushed his spine, and God bless that he has no brain damage after his face hit the asphalt which sometimes causes basal skull fracture. He obviously had concussion and appeared disoriented. Most likely he will be back as the world best cyclist in the next season. Everybody just have to be happy, that he will not suffer any permanent deficits.Jakob29-08-2026
- I wish Pogi a full recovery and more importantly he can return to form. A C7 fracture takes a bit to recover from. With the C7 I’m pretty certain his season is over.TideRide3229-08-2026
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