"Wout van Aert's attack? It was really difficult" - Tadej Pogacar on explosive Vuelta finale
CyclingSunday, 23 August 2026 at 19:47
Tadej Pogacar has begun stage 2 of the Vuelta a España at home in Monaco, and had a day that was, in its majority, calm. But the UAE Team Emirates - XRG had to pull out all the stops to follow Wout Van Aert's attack towards the finale in Manosque, where he kept the red jersey.
Pogacar follows Wout Van Aert's attack
Pogacar was actually not likely to be climbing onto the podium as the leader of the overall classification this Sunday. Ethan Hayter, who began the stage with the same time as the Slovenian, entered the breakaway and captured six bonus seconds. Unless Pogacar finished first or second, he would lose the lead to the Briton under regular circumstances.
As it turned out, Hayter lost time, caught up in the splits during the explosive finale that saw a few twists and turns amidst an ascent with a few false-flat sections. In one, with 2 kilometers to go, Wout Van Aert launched an attack.
"Wout van Aert's attack? It was really difficult, I had a lot of lactic acid in my legs in that final. When Wout went, I had to react immediately to avoid being caught out and close the gap".
Pogacar looked to maintain the race lead, having gotten that far in the day, but above all it was the stage win that was in mind. The World Champion was the only rider able to close the gap quickly, afterwards stopping the pace in the group. Alessandro Romele briefly joined them, but without collaboration the trio was quickly absorbed by the peloton.
"In the final sprint, I gave everything to get the best possible result and defend the leader's jersey". But the victory was distant, as Matthew Brennan sprinted up the French town, building an advantage of several bike lengths.
Pogacar would end up climbing on to the podium as leader of the overall and points classifications. "It's always satisfying to keep the red jersey after such a tiring and eventful stage".
Tadej Pogacar is leading the Vuelta a España after two stages
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Pogacar heads into the mountains in the lead
Whether the UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider will, or not, maintain his jersey over the next few days will be an internal decision. Pogacar is the main favourite to win the Vuelta, and appears to face no direct competition - specially after the early time trial confirmed his good form.
He might potentially play it conservatively over stage 3 so as to allow a breakaway go up the road and take over the race lead, allowing him to not take on the same amount of media duties and podium ceremonies that take away from his recovery time.
In any way, Pogacar should be the main favourite for the summit finish in Font Romeu, which will bring to an end the third stage of the Spanish Grand Tour.
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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- Lol that's the best clickbait cyclinguptodate have put on here for some time. Like a moth to a flame....Cyclingsbestfan23-08-2026
- It may be better suited to vingegaard that explosive stages, but it doesn't mean better for him than pogacar. Tadej has been there better climber since 2024, and the 2 stages he "cracked" both had other circumstances. Stage 17, 2023, Tadej was dropped not by vingegaard, but by a group of 8 led by ineos, uncharacteristically 7 miles from the summit, after he fell hard early that stage, long after adrenaline wears off. Stage 11, 2022, Tadej famously was isolated by 5 jumbo riders, and unwisely chased countless attacks in the valley by roglic and jonas before getting dropped on final mountain, by jonas and Geraint, and many argue he bonked. It would be different if Jonas simply rode him of the wheel on long step climbs 1 on1, but that has rarely ever happened.typurc23-08-2026
- They also give the results of all the CX races... but only as there are no road races then
Rafionain-Glas23-08-2026 - good luck to your guy at Worlds next week!OCexile23-08-2026
- Winning MSR, flanders x3, 2 wc, and 2x 2nd at roubaix, I is obvious that if the course doesn't suit Tadej, he just changes how it is raced. This also isn't 2022 where Jumbo has 5 to climbers and Tadej's only support was Marc Soler.typurc23-08-2026
- i get it. but bear in mind that cyclinguptodate is fundamentally a ROAD RACING site. it more or less ONLY covers mtb when either pidcock or van der poel are racing. same with gravel. but i’m sure there are mountain bike sites that will give your guy from red bull his due for the big win today.OCexile23-08-2026
- its getting out of hand i gotte agree.miguel23-08-2026
- its getting a bit out of hand the excuses every year i have to agree.miguel23-08-2026
- If the upcoming stages were flat, Pogi would probably have intentionally let go of the red jersey to avoid all the responsibilities. But now there's so much bait lying around for him in the next several stages, might as well just keep red.Ride197423-08-2026
- Yeah, but it's disproportionate. He is not facing random riders. The article gives the impression that Boichis won by fluke P.S I am a Red Bull fan so take this with a pinch of saltRafionain-Glas23-08-2026
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