Alasdair Fotheringham

Jay Vine has recovered from several serious crashes and injuries to find strong form at the 2026 Vuelta a España, where he is supporting UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Tadej Pogačar in a stage race for the first time. Vine played a key role on mountainous stages in Andorra and Valencia, helping position Pogačar before his decisive attacks. Vine says the Vuelta offers an opportunity to finally begin his season in earnest, while team head of sport Joxean Fernández Matxin praises his resilience, courage and commitment to working for Pogačar.

Inaccurate race-radio time gaps led UAE Team Emirates-XRG to believe Tadej Pogačar was alone on the Puerto de El Bartolo, when Enric Mas was actually close behind. Mas caught Pogačar, and the two worked together to gain 46 seconds plus time bonuses over their rivals. Pogačar ultimately won the stage and retained or strengthened his leadership in the general, mountains and points classifications. UAE manager Joxean Fernández Matxin said the team’s main concern was rider safety, particularly after Pogačar nearly went off the road on an unfamiliar descent.

Enric Mas played down the significance of matching Tadej Pogačar during the gravel climb and technical descent on stage 6 of the Vuelta a España. Mas caught Pogačar, gained six bonus seconds and finished second behind him, helping move into second overall at 3:34. After recovering from illness and injury, the performance marks a major return to Grand Tour contention, though Mas remains focused on taking the race day by day and preparing for the summit finish at Valdelinares.

Carlos Rodríguez is struggling to explain why his legs fail to respond during key moments of the 2026 Vuelta a España, despite encouraging training form. After losing more than 22 minutes on the mountain stage to Andorra, the INEOS rider has abandoned general-classification ambitions and is focusing on supporting Oscar Onley. Rodríguez hopes the race's heat and later stages, including the Sierra Nevada finish, will help him regain form while he and his team continue searching for the cause.

Tadej Pogačar has taken control of the Vuelta a España after only four stages, holding the leader's jersey and leads in the mountains and points classifications while building a 3:21 advantage over Primož Roglič. His dominance, supported by UAE Team Emirates-XRG, has made the overall victory highly predictable, although the fight for the remaining podium places remains open among Roglič, Enric Mas and other contenders. A possible breakaway or sprint could briefly change the jersey situation, but the succession of mountain stages is expected to reinforce Pogačar's control. The next major GC test may come on stage 6 at El Puerto de El Bartolo.

A severe rain and hailstorm, accompanied by poor visibility, strong winds and icy roads, forced the cancellation of stage 3 of the Vuelta a España near Font-Romeu. Tadej Pogačar helped bring the peloton to a halt before organizers formally abandoned the stage, canceling the intermediate and mountain sprint results. Spectators, riders, journalists and race staff sought shelter, while lightning disabled the ski lift and complicated efforts to evacuate fans. Local officials and team management supported the decision on safety grounds, noting that the weather had changed far more rapidly and severely than expected.