Vuelta 2026 Week 3

The second week was started off with a sprint finish on a flat stage with no categorised climbs. There were points to be gained at the intermediate sprint but it was a straightforward stage for the Visma team who controlled the entire stage. The sprint finish was won by Matthew Brennan making it a good day for Visma.

Stage 17 was another day for the sprinters. There were a few riders who tried to get a gap in the latter stage of the race but in the end it went as predicted. Matthew Brennan won yet another stage bringing his total up to 5 stages. Wout van Aert was still in green despite his teammate closing the gap in the points classification.

Stage 18 had the possibility of changing the GC standings drastically with it being another time trial. Primoz Roglic could in theory move up into 1st place, clearly a better TT riders than Enric Mas and Felix Gall. Stefan Kung, one of the main TT riders still in the race was in the hot seat while the GC favourites were out on the course. Felix Gall lost enough time on Roglic to move down into 3rd place while Enric Mas only lost around 30 seconds allowing him to retain the red jersey.

The breakaway was given another chance on stage 19. Various late additions to the break meant attacks were coming from everywhere and some were more successful than others. Santiago Buitrago was a late addition seeking the KOM points to secure the jersey which he was able to do. In the end the win went to Eddie Dunbar who was able to drop Buitrago before the line. The GC riders all crossed the line together bringing them closer to the end of the race.

Stage 20 was the last GC day and another chance for the break. Mikel Landa was able to take the stage by 47 seconds while further down the mountain there was GC action. Felix Gall was trying to get back into 2nd place on GC while Enric Mas was trying to not lose time to Roglic. The gaps opened up but were not big enough for there to be any change in the top three. Enric Mas had all but won the red jersey. Sepp Kuss was able to climb his way into 5th place in the general classification pushing the younger riders down a place. Stage 21 was a processional stage that came down to a sprint finish after a late break. All the classifications had already been decided and the stage was neutralised with 9.8km to go. It was won by Tobias Halland Johannessen with Matthew Brennan finishing in 4th, 9 seconds down on the winner.

Classification Leaders after week 3:

General : Enric Mas (Movistar team)

Points: Wout van Aert (Team Visma Lease a bike)

Youth: Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS)

KOM: Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious)

Teams: Decathlon CMA CGM Team

Stage winners:

Stage 16: Matthew Brennan (Team Visma Lease a Bike)

Stage 17: Matthew Brennan (Team Visma Lease a Bike)

Stage 18: Stefan Kung (Tudor Pro Cycling Team)

Stage 19: Eddie Dunbar (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team)

Stage 20: Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step)

Stage 21: Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility)

Abandons

(DNF Stage 16) Timo Roosen - Team Picnic PostNL

(DNS Stage 18) Alexis Renard - Cofidis

(DNS Stage 19) Stefan Kung - Tudor Pro Cycling Team

(DNS Stage 19) Yevgeniy Fedorov - XDS Astana Team

(DNF Stage 19) Paul Double - Team Jayco AlUla

(DNF Stage 20) Matthew Riccitello - Decathlon CMA CGM Team

(DNF Stage 20) Eddie Dunbar - Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team

(DNF Stage 20) Chris Hamilton - Team Picnic PostNL

Riders finishing the race: 142