“It’s confronting how quickly Pogacar comes past” - Ramses Debruyne surges into Vuelta top 10 but falls 3 seconds short of white jersey
CyclingThursday, 27 August 2026 at 18:30
Ramses Debruyne completed the finest day of his Grand Tour career with third place on Stage 6 of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana, surviving from the breakaway before winning the sprint from the group containing Primoz Roglic, Richard Carapaz and Felix Gall.
The result carried the Alpecin‑Premier Tech rider from 12th to eighth overall. Debruyne also came within three seconds of taking the white jersey from Oscar Onley, transforming both classifications after beginning the day 4:44 behind Tadej Pogacar.
Debruyne was the last survivor of the original 16-rider breakaway on Puerto El Bartolo.
He led onto the gravel and briefly held the front of the race alone, only for Pogacar to catch him before the summit.
Debruyne confronts the speed of Pogacar
“I’m very happy with today,” Debruyne told VTM Nieuws. “It’s a shame Pogacar caught me just a little too early and that I couldn’t quite stay with them over the summit and sprint for the victory.”
Pogacar accelerated away from the general classification group with four kilometres of climbing remaining and quickly passed the other escapees. Debruyne continued alone on gradients reaching 18%, but the red jersey swept past him on the gravel.
Enric Mas subsequently caught Pogacar and crossed the summit ahead of him. Debruyne was absorbed by Roglic and Gall shortly afterwards before the trio began closing on the two leaders during the descent.
Pogacar’s off-road scare and the cautious pace that followed reduced the gap to 13 seconds, briefly reviving Debruyne’s hopes of contesting the stage victory. Carapaz and Harold Tejada later joined the chase, but the five riders were unable to complete the junction once Pogacar and Mas began working together on the flatter roads. “I couldn’t get back because there wasn’t much left in the tank,” Debruyne said.
The 23-year-old nevertheless had enough remaining to win the sprint for third, finishing 46 seconds behind Pogacar and Mas. “I think it’s confronting for every rider to see how quickly Pogacar comes past,” he admitted. “I’m happy with today. If he had caught me with 500 metres to go and then beaten me in the sprint, it would have hurt more.”
Three seconds from the white jersey
Debruyne’s performance produced a significant reshuffle behind Pogacar in the general classification. His move into eighth also carried him to second in the youth standings after Onley paid for attempting to follow Pogacar’s attack.
The Netcompany INEOS leader suffered cramps and lost further ground after the summit, but retained the white jersey by the narrowest of margins. Onley ended the stage seventh overall at 5:37, with Debruyne immediately behind him at 5:40.
“It’s a shame that I don’t have it, but I’m incredibly happy with today,” Debruyne said. “Anything else that comes now will simply be a bonus.”
Read also
Debruyne and Onley previously raced against each other as juniors and shared a breakaway at the Criterium du Dauphine. Onley played down the current three-second margin after the stage, pointing to the more than two weeks of racing still remaining.
Debruyne was more cautious about his immediate prospects after spending most of Stage 6 in the breakaway and fighting the leading GC contenders through the finale. “Tomorrow will mainly be about surviving,” he said with a laugh.
Stage 7 takes the peloton to the summit finish at Aramon Valdelinares, where Debruyne will begin the day inside the Vuelta top 10 and within touching distance of the white jersey.
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.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Pogačar and Mas going 1 - 2 like it's Il Lombardia 2022. What an amazing climb by Mas. Seriously. Is he suddenly positioned to be second to a Slovenian, once again?RidesHills27-08-2026
- Sure no problem you can shut up if you wantabstractengineer27-08-2026
- Not many million... just a little over two million of Slovenians...PogiSloFans27-08-2026
- I have huge bollocks... 🩸 😂😂PogiSloFans27-08-2026
- YesPogiSloFans27-08-2026
- It was very admirable that Josh even started the Vuelta in the first place. I can't begin to imagine what he's had to deal with for the past couple of weeks.
santiagobenites27-08-2026 - Noabstractengineer27-08-2026
- I said what I said, so shush. Capish?PogiSloFans27-08-2026
- Some are saying Pogačar has the best team around him. My bollocks... his team at the Vuelta is so "good" that his only serious help is Vine - who hasn't finished a single race since January and Pablo Torres - who had knee surgery 4 months ago and this is his first grand tour. Almeida is overrated, always was, just like Ayuso. You all have to realize that Pogi alone is a TEAM. God gave Pogi almost everything...talent as if it came directly from him... health, fame... he is a sports icon. He rules the world. Ad acta!!! PS: OMG, I'm using the word God... but I'm an atheist :))PogiSloFans27-08-2026
- Alright the first thing he said was wrong, Seixas did Dauphine, 8 days, already last year. Also, the logical conclusion is that Pogacar had a lot more room for improvementvappaxbipmv27-08-2026
Loading
Write a comment