“We’re here to win, not fool around” – Tadej Pogacar puts any doubts to bed with another Vuelta GC blow to rivals
CyclingFriday, 28 August 2026 at 18:22
The Stage 7 victory was already almost seven minutes up the road, but Tadej Pogacar still found another opportunity to strengthen his control of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana on the final climb to Aramon Valdelinares.
UAE Team Emirates – XRG allowed the breakaway to decide the stage, with Andreas Leknessund leading home Uno-X Mobility teammate Tobias Halland Johannessen. The battle between the general classification contenders developed much further down the mountain.
Decathlon CMA CGM Team increased the pace before Felix Gall attacked from the reduced favourites group. Pogacar immediately followed, with Enric Mas initially remaining in contact as Primoz Roglic and the other podium contenders fell behind.
Pogacar eventually moved clear alone, gaining six seconds on Gall, 16 on Mas and 29 on Roglic. His advantage in the red jersey consequently increased from 3:34 to 3:50 without UAE ever pursuing the stage victory.
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Gall’s attack becomes another Pogacar opportunity
Pogacar insisted the move had not begun as a planned attack. He had simply followed Gall before maintaining the tempo when the Decathlon CMA CGM Team leader moved aside. “Gall just swung off and I went too, continuing with the same pace he was doing before,” Pogacar explained after the finish.
The situation changed when he looked back and realised the remaining contenders were struggling to match that pace. “When I saw they couldn’t follow, I pushed until the top of the climb and I got a small lead against the GC riders,” he continued. “We’re here to win the general classification and not fool around.”
The performance provided an immediate answer to the questions raised one day earlier, when Mas became the first rider to close one of Pogacar’s decisive attacks at this Vuelta. The Movistar leader caught him near the summit of El Bartolo before the pair contested victory together in Castellon de la Plana.
Pogacar still won Stage 6, but the unusual sight of Mas riding back to the world champion prompted debate over whether faulty radio information had caused him to control his effort or whether the red jersey had experienced a rare difficult day.
There was no repeat at Aramon Valdelinares. Gall emerged as the closest challenger after initiating the move, but Pogacar still distanced the Austrian before the summit while placing more significant time into Mas and Roglic.
Mas remains second overall at 3:50, with Roglic third at 4:50. Gall moved into fourth and now trails Roglic by only 11 seconds, but Pogacar completed Stage 7 with his advantage only 10 seconds short of four minutes.
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.
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- I heard a little birdy say before todays stage: "Tweet tweet... Tadej Pogačar will allow a break away today but at the end of the race he will still show Mas who the real boss is in this Vuelta....just for fun... tweet tweet !!!"PogiSloFans28-08-2026
- That performance by Mas was fantastic. WHAT a flex to overtake Pog on the peak of the climb, haha. Amazing.wrsty28-08-2026
- If this was known why did nobody in Ineos advice Onley to not follow Pogi attack and then he blew big time.abstractengineer28-08-2026
- Years ago the French booed Armstrong (before his doping scandal)... they were booing Jonas in 2024... now they're booing Pogi, because, I guess, he didn't gift Seixas a win.PogiSloFans28-08-2026
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- Naesen: "The peloton don't view Pogačar as an opponent anymore." The peleton views Pogi as a half-god of cycling... just like the Greeks viewed Hercules, Perseus or Achilles.PogiSloFans28-08-2026
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