VIDEO: Tadej Pogacar skids off road and into grass in heart-stopping Vuelta a Espana crash scare
CyclingThursday, 27 August 2026 at 17:12
Tadej Pogacar narrowly avoided crashing on the descent of Puerto El Bartolo after his attack had been shut down by Enric Mas during a dramatic finale to Stage 6 of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana.
The red jersey initially appeared to be riding towards his third victory of the race after attacking four kilometres from the summit.
Oscar Onley briefly followed before Pogacar moved clear, swept past the remnants of the day’s breakaway and opened a sizeable advantage over the other general classification contenders.
Mas refused to let the Slovenian disappear. The Movistar leader accelerated from the chase, caught Pogacar near the summit and moved past him to collect the ten mountains points.
Pogacar runs onto the grass
The two riders began the technical descent together, with Mas gesturing for caution as they negotiated the opening corners. Pogacar instead attempted to apply pressure and regain the initiative following the unexpected catch.
His aggression almost produced a race-changing accident. Pogacar lost control approaching a left-hand bend, skidded beyond the road and ran onto the grass at speed.
The five-time Tour de France winner managed to keep the bike upright and quickly returned to the road, avoiding both a crash and potentially serious damage to his commanding position in the Vuelta general classification.
The scare came with Primoz Roglic and Felix Gall leading the pursuit behind, leaving Pogacar with little opportunity to recover from the mistake before continuing the battle with Mas towards Castellon de la Plana.
Watch the incident below:
No se cae ni saliéndose.
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) August 27, 2026
🤯 El recto de Pogacar en el descenso del Bartolo.#LaVuelta26 #LaCasadelCiclismo pic.twitter.com/SmKg1GiqRg
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
- 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
- The same logic would apply to you. He has pro victories, YOU HAVE ZERO. What gives you the right to comment on his comments on Pogi? Everybody has free speech and can comment, whether you like it or not.abstractengineer27-08-2026
- Geraint Thomas is saying: “You’re not going to race Pogi with 50k to go and he’s doing seven watts per kilo, because you know you just can’t do that." Exactly, and Johan Bruyneel is saying the same... and other cycling experts. Everyone gets it except Chris Horner. His analysis how to beat Pogi are becoming BS: "Don't go too fast...don't go too slow...use this tactic, but on the next climb use another tactic... bla bla bla... If you have a rider like Pogi, an alien, you can stuff yout tactics where the sun never shines. If Pogi has his team around him, he has everything under control... if he's isolated he breaks away from the peleton and says... "See you in the douches." Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans27-08-2026
Loading
Write a comment