"They need to decide..." - Tadej Pogacar on unsure of which Visma rider is set to challenge him for green jersey
CyclingFriday, 28 August 2026 at 11:39
The points classification at the Vuelta a España has thus far been one of the most open parts of the competition. Tadej Pogacar leads it, and he was asked about Visma's tactics of pursuing results with different riders over the opening week of the race.
The team has backed up Matthew Brennan to win the sprint stages, something the Briton has do so, successfully capturing both stages 2 and 5 which had a hilly undertone to it. At the Vuelta, the points system does not heavily favour the sprinters as is the case with ASO's Tour de France, and so the 30 points scored in each sprint don't allow Brennan to come close to Pogacar - winner of stages 1, 4 and 6.
After stage 6, Pogacar leads the standings with 102 points, against the 69 of Wout Van Aert and 60 of Matthew Brennan. Visma also have Christophe Laporte in fifth whilst no other rider can realistically challenge for the competition.
Pogacar addresses Visma's tactics
“They’re going with two riders from the team competing for the green jersey," he said in words to Sporza. "There are so many points up for grabs along the way, and there are still 15 stages to go. They need to decide which rider they want to go with to win the jersey.”
The decision looks to have been made since the start of the race, only on the road it is not often clear. Visma are backing Brennan up in the sprints, including Wout Van Aert as a leadout. But it is Van Aert who is aiming for the classification.
That is clear as Van Aert, alongside Ethan Hayter, has been the only rider trying to get points in the race's intermediate sprints thus far. Not only that, but the team has purposefully kept Brennan away from what would be easy to achieve points. But simultaneously, Pogacar has also decided not to take those points, giving the non-sprinter Van Aert a chance to go for the jersey.
Tadej Pogacar holds overall, KOM and points classification leaderships
Van Aert pursues the green jersey
On this Thursday's stage, Van Aert joined the breakaway of the day and went on to win the intermediate sprint, grabbing another 20 points towards his tally. The Belgian will, most likely, pursue this competition through breakaways and scoring on some of the hilly stages.
“Taking those points ultimately became the main goal for today, because we weren't given much freedom up front," Van Aert said in a press release issued by the team. The Visma rider had the intention of fighting for a result in Castelló, even if a win was unlikely, but was met with hard resistance from UAE Team Emirates - XRG who wanted the stage win.
"I quickly realized that the breakaway wasn't going to be given much room. It would have been nice to fight for the stage win, but that wasn't on the cards. It won't be easy to overtake Pogačar in the points classification. Of course, he won the stage today and picked up some extra points”.
On stage 7, more breakaways action is expected from the Belgian as the riders take on a hilly stage with a summit finish at Aramón Valdelinares.
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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Andrew28-08-2026 - Completely disagree with the notion that Onley (and Gall for that matter) have been disappointing. They've come to the Vuelta with good form and clearly want to race. Onley admitted he made a mistake, going too deep to follow Pogacar but even trying suggests he's feeling good. Carlos Rodriguez is another matter entirely, obviously struggling for form.PeterC28-08-2026
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