Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard... - The riveting Pogacar-based list that Enric Mas has joined after winning La Vuelta
CyclingMonday, 14 September 2026 at 13:00
The 2026 Vuelta a España has come to a conclusion and Enric Mas has been able to do what only two other riders in the history of the sport have managed to: Win a Grand Tour where Tadej Pogacar was at the start.
Pogacar has, since turning pro in 2019, been changing the sport in ways that were not foreseeable beforehand. The current World Champion has won five Tours de France, 13 monuments, two world titles as the centerpiece of his career.
But amongst his 130 pro wins are plenty more quality triumphs. Since 2024, the UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider has become a relatively flawless figure in the peloton, with no weak points to explore, and an unmatched climbing ability.
Hence, his record on the Grand Tours is nothing short of incredible. He has won six out of the ten Grand Tours he has started. But even for the most dominant athlete in modern cycling, the victory ratio is not 100%. Which Grand Tours did he not win?
Primoz Roglic - 2019
It is easier to go through those that Pogacar has won. He conquered the 2024 Giro d'Italia - his only attempt at it; whilst winning the 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025 and 2026 editions of the Tour de France. This is a successful career built on his three-week debut at the Vuelta a España.
Back then, UAE was a team focused on the sprints, with Fabio Aru still as a leader whom the team was trying to see return to his top level, and with Pogacar as a talented rider but a young debutant. The team's 21st out of 22 teams at the opening team time trial says a lot about the depth of the team and the focus deposited on a GC block for that Vuelta.
But the Slovenian's talent was evident from early on, having won stages 9 and 13 of the race; and then flying on the final mountain stage to climb from fifth to third, hence entering the podium on his first-ever Grand Tour.
Back then, Primoz Roglic won his first Grand Tour. Despite the nine-year age gap between the two, both riders began showing their true colours as Grand Tour candidates in the very same year.
Pogacar would deal a massive blow to Roglic the following summer by dethroning him at the Planche des Belles Filles, the final competitive stage of the 2020 Tour de France - in an edition where he also had very little support.
Primoz Roglic and Tadej Pogacar
Jonas Vingegaard - 2022 and 2023
Jonas Vingegaard is the biggest rival of Tadej Pogacar throughout his career - at least, until now. The Danish rider has proven to be the strongest climber of the 2020's with the exception of the Slovenian, and whilst in 2024 a gap was created between the two, that certainly wasn't the case beforehand.
An introvert, family man and detail-oriented rider who could never adapt to the classics, Vingegaard presented the absolute opposite of Pogacar. In 2021 the two first met at the Tour, with the defending champion Pogacar winning, but having seen on Mont Ventoux that in Vingegaard he had a rival who could distance him in the longer climbs.
The 2022 Tour de France was the climax of Visma's year-long work to win the Tour de France, having Jonas Vingegaard at an incredibly high level, backed by a team that saw Wout Van Aert winning the green jersey, multiple stages and headline the first days of the race; and a Primoz Roglic who suffered due to a crash but still played a crucial role in aiding Vingegaard's victory.
On the Col du Galibier-Col du Granon combination, Visma's strategy of burning out Pogacar worked. Whilst nowadays it is the opposite, at that time endurance played to Vingegaard's advantage whilst Pogacar was still not a rider that had an armour to safeguard him over the high altitude and extreme hot temperatures.
In 2023, after a crash at Liège-Bastogne-Liège hampered his preparation, the two entered the Tour once again rather equally matched. The battle was tight until the Col de la Loze, where the queen stage rode by. Pogacar's implosion was unlike anything seen since, and was perhaps the day in which UAE realized that they had gaps in Pogacar's arsenal that needed to be filled, otherwise he might not have won the Tour de France again. Ever since, the Slovenian has appeared at every Tour de France at the very top of his game.
Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar at the 2026 Tour de France
Enric Mas - 2026
Last but not least, Enric Mas. The Spaniard is the winner of the only Grand Tour Tadej Pogacas has started but not finished. A rider who crashes like any other pro rider, but has virtually always seemed unfazed by them, and unaffected by injuries.
The 2026 Vuelta a España was the exception, with Pogacar - in the red jersey and leading the race comfortably - crashed at high-speed during stage 8 of the race, sustaining a concussion, collarbone and vertebra fractures. Continuing the race was not a possibility, and the UAE rider has had to abandon.
Two days before he did, he was caught on a major climb for the first time in years. This was Enric Mas, who on stage 6, flew up the very steep Puerto el Bartolo. In the incredibly hot and steep Spanish roads, the home rider surprised the cycling world with a performance that ultimately warmed up audiences for a potential overall win following the departure of Pogacar.
After the red jersey was on his shoulders, Mas deployed consistently strong climbing performances all throughout the Vuelta, bringing Movistar back into the top of the cycling world with their first Grand Tour win of the decade.
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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- The factor of the no-Pogacar, is another point of note, no one wins with Pogacar around or it's close.. I think their should be a rule, if Pogacar's in a race then his results should be ignored
leedorney14-09-2026 - what a garbage takewrsty14-09-2026
- Pity Kuss couldn’t find back his past performance except for one or two good stages. Makes you wonder how he ever managed to win it even if you ignore the others on the podium were restrained.Jumpyjohn14-09-2026
- A bit of a whiner though. Attracts attention to himself and then complains people pay attention to him. You don’t usually achieve change by trying to force things through, and that’s when there’s more or less consensus it’s necessary or good. If you’re just doing it because it’s convenient for YOU or to go it alone against established ways, you’ve got no chance.Jumpyjohn14-09-2026
- Change the record.Cyclingsbestfan14-09-2026
- I'm sorry to see him go. We need people who shake things up or things never change. This reminds me of how the UCI treated Graeme Obree (google the name younngsters) back in the day.Cyclingsbestfan14-09-2026
- It is good news for cycling fans, but I doubt that the many peoples of the world that are put upon will even know about it.Cyclingsbestfan14-09-2026
- At least we saw a great race in Montreal, not like the boring Vuelta. Who cares if Mas or Roglič or Gall or anyone else won this boring race. I see comments on this site, after Pogi crashed, went down at least 25%. Pogi haters and other fools on this site won't admit it. While they celebrated Pogi's crash and saying the Vuelta was "exciting again," the reality is that the second and third weeks of the Vuelta attracted far fewer viewers. David Bavin-HobbsIn on PRO CYCLING: "A cycling world that has been dominated for years by Pogačar and UAE Emirates-XRG—and in a world where people talk about the sport being “boring,” “monotonous,” and “unexciting”—the Slovenian’s withdrawal provided a very enlightening insight. For although Pogacar had the Vuelta firmly in his grasp, far more people were watching when he was in the race versus after his departure. The statistics website Procyclingstats shared a rather bizarre graph showing the sharp drop in visitor numbers since Pogacar was forced to withdraw. In recent years, there had always been an increase in unique visitors during the first and second weeks of the Vuelta. However, Pogacar’s withdrawal resulted in a 15 percent drop."PogiSloFans14-09-2026
- Loved the kit Movistar put together, too, that has to be one of the best GT winning kits I’ve seen.anonymouscyclist14-09-2026
- Somehow Seixas went to sleep just as Del Toro launched his sprint. Seixas says he's still learning, and he won't make that mistake again. And Remco still beat Pidcock in the sprint for fifth after burning too many matches. Should be a great Worlds race indeed!Hills3314-09-2026
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