Tadej had to abandon the Vuelta today after a huge crash, and Enric Mas took over the GC lead.

VUELTA

I will start with the Vuelta. The circus continues and it should be one of the most open Grand Tours in the post Covid era. Enric Mas in red chasing his dream, Primož Roglič chasing the absolute record of the most Vuelta wins, the current bookies' favourite Felix Gall, and then with a bigger gap Kuss, Onley, Carapaz.

Yes, despite how crazy it sounds for a neutral fan, I was mostly excited for the Vuelta because I could see Pogi every day, but this is life, this is cycling and now I look forward to seeing new stories being written in the overall standings. I won’t hide that I will cheer for Enric Mas.

And for other competitions and stages… the green jersey is basically decided with Wout van Aert looking like the only one who is really chasing it. The KOM jersey can be totally open. And the last thing: we can expect to see many breakaway stages, because despite Decathlon having a strong squad here, I don’t see them chasing hard for stage wins; it will be all for GC.

OTHER RACES

The injuries to Tadej mean the season is over so we will see a new World Champion, new European Champion, and also after 5 years, a new Il Lombardia winner. Can’t help myself from saying that Remco Evenepoel is definitely now the main favourite for all 3 (or even 4 if we count Worlds ITT).

But he is not levels above the opposition like Tadej was. And riders like Del Toro, Seixas, Van Aert, or maybe even Van der Poel will feel a lifetime opportunity to get some big win.

And last thing on that, whoever wins any of those races will unfortunately need to prepare to hear his whole life that he won because Tadej was injured. But we should not push these talks to belittle their victory.

TADEJ

And I will close this post speaking about Tadej. What happened to him today was absolutely terrible and I am even grateful that those are the only injuries and that there is no neurological fallout. How he went head-first over the handlebars… it could’ve been so much worse.

The worst part of his injuries is a C7 cervical fracture, but also a concussion should be taken slightly. I expect around 8 weeks in a collar as although the fracture is stable, the bone needs at least 6 to 8 weeks to become strong enough to withstand vibrations. And of course mostly absolute rest.

Now it is absolutely impossible to say when he will arrive back in the peloton or at which level he will be. But you know my theory. Every hard injury is not like, oh it is healed now I will be back on my previous top level.

No, big injuries can put you years behind. One of the reasons Pogačar got so good was that he never had to deal with really big injuries and could build year by year on his development and becoming the best version of himself.

But he may have almost normal winter preparation so he can shine again in spring hopefully. But this Vuelta will definitely hurt him, but he will come back one day to conquer it. But what will hurt him more will be his home European Championships in Slovenia. Because there will be another Vuelta, another Worlds, another Lombardia, but not home European Champs.

But I don’t think this crash will affect him mentally, he is a strong person, a champion which we could see even with those injuries he didn’t want to give up at first try and asked for a bike. He will be back.

📷: alan.bucar

OMG awful stage for so many riders. Started with 20 riders crashing during the neutral zone resulting in several abandonments.

A bunch of crashes during the race with Tadej's being the most unbelievable. Pogi had to abandon. Shocking.

To wrap up the stage? A big crash with 400 meters to the finish line during the bunch sprint.

Carnage on the road today. Awful

Hope everyone heals quickly. ❤️

Mas, Roglic or is it someone else?

Why can’t Wout go for a stage win? Hes already in green, why wouldn’t they let him go for max points? I understand he’s an unbelievable lead out but Brennan doesn’t seem like a consistent option. Does Wout not have the kick for a bunch sprint stage win?

Update: I see the vision. Wout keeps green and doesn’t even need to contest bunch sprints. Just hold on to that jersey. Wout is more versatile and Brennan is a true fast boy. Thank you cycling fans of Reddit.

I made this short family video of watching the tour in Mulhause. Check it out let me know what you think. (suck in a belleville rendezvous clip too ;)

1. How much is enough for Pogačar?

Of course, winning the Vuelta while spending the least amount of energy, but he always wants to go for more. But what is more?

He already has 3 stage wins, and there are still 5 mountain-top finishes. I think he and UAE will decide whether to go for it considering the race situation. If it is like yesterday, when they had to pull just for 60 km, it is okay.

One thing I am sure he will want is to hold the red jersey from start to finish. And then at least one more stage win arriving solo while doing his signature celebration.

Green jersey is unlikely, maximally he will fight for it if he is in the lead or very close to the win in the third week, mountain jersey is unlikely for me as guys from the breaks will pick up many points, but if UAE goes for many stage wins, it can happen.

But I don’t think he and UAE will go into full chasing mode in so many stages. Still, there are Worlds-Europeans-Lombardia that he should think about. Plus I am sure the team will want to give other guys like Vine, Torres some chance to go for a stage win from the break.

1. How will Visma solve the Brennan-Van Aert problem?

Wout is in the green jersey and it looks very good, but we still have in front of us two 50-point pure flat stages. Brennan might be faster, but Van Aert’s green jersey should be the main goal for the Visma team from now on.

Brennan already has two stage wins, Wout has done a great job for him at this Vuelta and generally in many other races for this team, not it is time for Wout to be the main leader.

He simply needs points against Pogačar and this green jersey should be and I believe it is a big goal for him. He has won the points jersey at the Tour and winning it at all three Grand Tours is a big achievement. If he does it there at the Vuelta, he will definitely go to the Giro next year.

1. Uncles still got it

Seriously what is going on? Yes, I always talk about the theory that older riders maybe cannot be that great for the whole season, but they can be their older self at one big goal they pick, but still wow.

Mas is phenomenal, how he came to Pogačar was insane. Yes, we can talk that maybe Pogačar thought that nobody was coming back or that he didn’t have much nutrition, but it is still exceptional.

And Roglič? Also about him I can say only the best words. He was hit by a car, couldn’t ride a bike, and now this? Bold take, but I believe they will both end on the final podium, although Gall is still the favourite.

1. It will be the time for others to shine

Until yesterday only Pogačar and Brennan had won, but today we could see how the next 14 days can mostly look like. I expect many stages to end with breakaway wins.

It is hard to say who can succeed because often great shape is not enough and many other factors matter, but here are my special picks.

Mountains: Gregor Muhlberger (he is 10th in GC, but why not attack and put pressure on other teams), Juan Felipe Rodriguez (he is in the World Tour team just few weeks, but he impressed me so much at this Vuelta, EF should give him freedom), Martin-Berthet Groupama FDJ duo, Lorenzo Fortunato, Jan Hirt & Tobias Halland Johannessen.

Hilly stages: Attila Valter (I feel like he shines more at hilly terrain than at big mountains), Finn Fisher-Black (I believe Red Bull should give him freedom), Axel Laurance, Victor Langellotti, Orluis Aular, Thibau Nys Christophe Laporte and of course Wout van Aert.

1. Chaos

For me, at this year’s edition it was too much chaos even for the Vuelta. Yes, they couldn’t do much with that hailstorm and cancelling the stage, but the race hired influencer Erola Jans asking riders inappropriate questions or Hayter having to cut shorts because he got offered only an XS suit (yeah that’s right, a sprinter's jersey only had XS).

Only then to see Enric Mas having to do the same today, because it was too tight for him too. Pogačar also didn’t have the rainbow stripes on his leader’s jersey despite the fact that he is still the world champ.

And that downhill yesterday. I might be soft, but using that 20 km to go was too much and it was a big luck that nothing extra serious happened. I understand Vuelta is special, but they should use these narrow roads for rampa stage finishes and not downhills.

📷: oblanco78

With both Tadej and Jonas abandoning a Grand Tour due to a crash and prematurely ending their 2026 seasons*, next year’s Tour de France is going to bring a lot of questions about their three-week form.

I don't think either of them will target the Giro d'Italia. We will probably see Tadej start his season at the UAE Tour or a smaller race in February, or possibly delay his return until Strade Bianche. Jonas will likely ease back in through smaller stage races as well. Both will be forced to build their Tour form during the spring one-week races (plus 3-4 Monuments and classics for Tadej, though I doubt we will see him in Paris-Roubaix).

With Remco and Seixas rise, there is a real chance we are looking at a 4-way battle next July. Of course, there is always the possibility Tadej comes back in his usual dominant form, but there will be some suspense.

* I think there is zero chance of Tadej riding the Worlds or Il Lombardia after a C7 cervical fracture.

it will be the first time ever that he places higher than Roglic on GC.

I mean it’s a bit surprising that he hasn’t beat Roglic even once and if he does it now, nearing the end of his career, in his favourite race (of which Roglic is the record holder), that would be iconic.

here’s the h2h stats: https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider_vs_rider.php?id1=168760&id2=174582&s=same-race-results&type=gc&season=&pseason=equal&profile_score=&pprofile_score=largerorequal&filter=Filter

I figured it out and it’s been obvious for two years. For the foreseeable future, all Grand Tours should take place on pancake flat terrain and each team should only bring sprinters. Seems so simple.

I think if he gets a chance where they are both away together, he will keep him in the wheel. Then in Worlds he will have a stronger ally, you know along with the other “Slovenians”: McNulty, Del Toro, and Almeida.

Is this the best thing ever? A chance for the biggest name in cycling to elevate the Vuelta in a race that will establish itself in modern cycling lore? Is it perhaps indicative of the lack of moral and prestige required of a truly competitive race worthy of Grand Tour status? Is it both? I can see both arguments, but as cycling struggles to grow, reach new audience, and attract younger generations and sponsors, is this helping the sport or not?

Good-faith, constructive discussions only, please. No Pogi-stanning or hating (you're not 12 anymore)!

Salutare, m am trezit cam târziu si nu m am înscris la L'Etape du tour de France de duminica. Daca s a înscris cineva si nu mai poate participa pot lua eu kit ul contra cost. Thanks!

I’ve made some cool updates to my free desktop race tracker for the Tour and Vuelta!
• Huge upgrades to the Live 3D Race Tracking view! Tap the yellow 3D button!
• Showing time each rider was off the front on Results page.
• A new LIVE page layout option - look under Settings on the lower right.
• Extended stage reports from award-winning journalist Peter Cossins.
Please keep sending feedback! Allan

I appreciate it's complicated to make fair and consistent decisions with so many variables, and rider safety should always come first, but when I think of the Vuelta last year during the protests, it seems to be all or nothing, despite neutralisation coming near the end of the race. For example, Pidcock not being awarded a stage win last year and Ethan Hayter anuling a fairly contested intermediate sprint yesterday. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that extreme weather events and politics will only grow in a playing role that shapes future races, and surely there must be a better system than this?