"The sprinters are climbing and the climbers are sprinting..." - Buitrago finds an unlikely rival for polka dot jersey
CyclingSaturday, 05 September 2026 at 03:00
The first thirteen stages of the Vuelta a Espana have produced two riders very interested in the polka dot jersey - and they couldn't be more of polar opposites.
Santiago Buitrago, the current leader at 58 points, is the embodiment of typical climber. Compact, explosive rider who is a prominent feature in mountain stage breakaways with two Giro d'Italia stage wins.
"Normally, the polka-dot jersey is for climbers, but now… In recent years, the sprinters have been climbing and the climbers have been sprinting, so it’s a bit of a mix for everyone," Buitrago outlined the bizarre scenario at hand.
That carefulness stems from the fact that, at the opposite end stands as a rival Wout Van Aert with 40 points after stage 13. The robust Belgian has already amassed 15 Grand Tour stages - among them even a Tour de France mountain stage passing Mont Ventoux twice(!) - but is typically more recognized for his timetrialing and sprinter abilties (outside of cobbled Classics).
Van Aert can do "something special"
If it were for any other opponent, it would've been rather safe to assume that Buitrago will be able to grow his lead steadily throughout the hardest mountain stages - but Van Aert is not quite "any" opponent. Already in hold of the points jersey, the Visma star is posed with quite the fascinating challenge - to win both special jerseys in the same edition.
And the interest in doing so has become apparent during the past two stages when Van Aert outsprinted Buitrago to ever categorized climb he got a chance to.
Wout Van Aert wins Vuelta a Espana stage 13
"It’s not easy to compete against [Wout van Aert]. He’s one of the best in the world and, well, that makes the battle for this jersey all the more interesting," Buitrago admits his excitement to come up against the Paris-Roubaix winner.
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The upcoming stage finishing atop Sierra de la Pandera could already shuffle the current standings again, perhaps in favor of Santiago Buitrago. Although it won't be an easy stage to get a breakaway going, if escapees do get a chance, Buitrago will find himself at much better odds for the 10 points on a summit of a 11.8-kilometer climb with average gradient of 7.5%.
"Tomorrow will be a very tough day. We’re hoping to recover now, so that tomorrow we’ll have strong legs and can finish this week in the best possible way," the Bahrain - Victorious rider concludes.
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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