Pogacar, Vingegaard, Roglic and Del Toro headline Andorra Cycling Masters - New MTT and criterium event on 19 October
Cycling
From the 2024 Tour de France to the 2025 Criterium du Dauphiné, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard did not meet in racing a single time. But in the second half of this year that is not the case as the two will meet each other on a few occasions, and in one specific with Primoz Roglic as well. The trio headline a newly-created event in Andorra.
This will be the 'Andorra Cycling Masters', not a professional race but an event that has a time-trial and a criterium in the European micro-nation, which is chosen by hundreds of professionals to be their home. This event will be taking place on the 19th of October, after the end of their season and on the last days of what is the professional road cycling season in Europe.
IPG Mediabrands Entertainment CEO Alfonso García Valenzuela, who will be part of the production team for a documentary on the event, has said the following regarding the race: "For the first time, we are going to have the best cyclists in the world compete without teams, without strategies, without radios, just them and their talent and the road to see who is crowned the champion of champions".
It is a tradition for the big stars to be invited to criteriums after the end of Grand Tour, mainly the Tour de France which famously features around two weeks of events around France and Belgium mostly. However this one is quite different taking into consideration it's distance towards all three-week races of the season, and also taking into consideration that it is not near the place of residence for any of the big three riders.
An event for fun, but will we see a battle too?
This will be taking place in Andorra where there is barely a meter of flat roads, meaning the riders will go up the mountains. Many more pro riders are set to take part in the event, including already confirmed Isaac del Toro, runner-up at the Giro d'Italia. After their cycling season is over and in a criterium format, the riders will be able to go as hard as they want before the much-deserved off-season.
Could we have a climbing battle between Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic, Isaac del Toro and several other of the world's best climbers to finish off the season in style on a non-professional race?
"Holding an event of these characteristics, when it is the first time that original cycling is returned to, without teams, just the cyclist, the bicycle and the road, we think that it is a return to the essence and this will be the beginning of something great in the world of cycling," Valenzuela concluded.
The courses
The event will consist of an 8-kilometer mountain time trial up the Collada de la Gallina, one of the most popular and difficult climbs in the area; and a 32-kilometer long criterium in Andorra-la-Vella.
Organizers David Quintana has also further boosted the event's idea and purpose in words to Sporza, as the country's pushes to become an even more attractive destination for pro riders and cycling tourism in general: “We want four top-level riders to race against each other without the support of their teams. This way, fans can see every year who the champion of champions really is.”
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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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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