2026 Vuelta a España
Cycling race
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 Vuelta a España is a three-week cycling race taking place in Monaco, France, Andorra and Spain. It started on 22 August in Monaco and will finish on 13 September in Granada.[1] It is the 81st edition of the Vuelta a España and the third and final grand tour of the 2026 men's road cycling season.
Dates22 August – 13 September
Stages21
Distance3,310.6 km (2,057.1 mi)
| 2026 UCI World Tour, race 31 of 36 | |
|---|---|
| Race details | |
| Dates | 22 August – 13 September |
| Stages | 21 |
| Distance | 3,310.6 km (2,057.1 mi) |
Teams
Twenty-three teams will take part in the race. All eighteen UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited. They will be joined by five UCI ProTeams; the three highest ranked UCI ProTeams in 2025 (Tudor Pro Cycling Team, Pinarello–Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team and Cofidis), along with two other Spanish teams (Burgos Burpellet BH and Equipo Kern Pharma). The teams were announced on 30 January 2026.[2]
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) came into the Vuelta regarded as the presumptive winner of the race. Other contenders for the general classification include Felix Gall and Richard Carapaz.[3] In the competition for the sprinters jersey, Mads Pedersen and Wout van Aert were considered the favourites.
UCI WorldTeams
- Alpecin–Premier Tech
- Decathlon CMA CGM
- EF Education–EasyPost
- Groupama–FDJ United
- Lidl–Trek
- Lotto–Intermarché
- Movistar Team
- Netcompany INEOS
- NSN Cycling Team
- Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe
- Soudal–Quick-Step
- Team Bahrain Victorious
- Team Jayco–AlUla
- Team Picnic–PostNL
- UAE Team Emirates XRG
- Uno-X Mobility
- Visma–Lease a Bike
- XDS Astana Team
UCI ProTeams
Route and stages
The official route was announced on 17 December 2025 in Monaco.[4]
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 August | Monaco to Monaco | 9 km (5.6 mi) |  |
Individual time trial |  Tadej Pogačar (SLO) |
| 2 | 23 August | Monaco to Manosque (France) | 215.5 km (133.9 mi) |  |
Hilly stage | |
| 3 | 24 August | Gruissan (France) to Font Romeu (France) | 166.7 km (103.6 mi) |  |
Medium-mountain stage | |
| 4 | 25 August | Andorra La Vella (Andorra) to Andorra La Vella (Andorra) | 104.9 km (65.2 mi) |  |
Mountain stage | |
| 5 | 26 August | Falset to Roquetes | 171.1 km (106.3 mi) | |
Hilly stage | |
| 6 | 27 August | Alcossebre to Castellón | 176.8 km (109.9 mi) | |
Medium-mountain stage | |
| 7 | 28 August | Vall d'Alba to Aramón Valdelinares | 149.9 km (93.1 mi) | |
Mountain stage | |
| 8 | 29 August | Puçol to Xeraco | 176.4 km (109.6 mi) |  |
Flat stage | |
| 9 | 30 August | Villajoyosa to Alto de Aitana | 187.5 km (116.5 mi) | |
Mountain stage | |
| 31 August | Rest day | |||||
| 10 | 1 September | Alcaraz to Elche de la Sierra | 184.5 km (114.6 mi) | |
Hilly stage | |
| 11 | 2 September | Cartagena to Lorca | 156.1 km (97.0 mi) | |
Flat stage | |
| 12 | 3 September | Vera to Calar Alto | 166.5 km (103.5 mi) | |
Mountain stage | |
| 13 | 4 September | Almuñécar to Loja | 193.2 km (120.0 mi) | |
Medium-mountain stage | |
| 14 | 5 September | Jaén to Sierra de la Pandera | 152.7 km (94.9 mi) | |
Mountain stage | |
| 15 | 6 September | Palma del Río to Córdoba | 181.2 km (112.6 mi) | |
Medium-mountain stage | |
| 7 September | Rest day | |||||
| 16 | 8 September | Cortegana to Palos de la Frontera | 186 km (116 mi) | |
Flat stage | |
| 17 | 9 September | Dos Hermanas to Seville | 189.2 km (117.6 mi) | |
Flat stage | |
| 18 | 10 September | El Puerto de Santa María to Jerez de la Frontera | 32.5 km (20.2 mi) | |
Individual time trial | |
| 19 | 11 September | Vélez-Málaga to Peñas Blancas | 205.1 km (127.4 mi) | |
Hilly stage | |
| 20 | 12 September | La Calahorra to Collado del Alguacil | 187 km (116 mi) | |
Mountain stage | |
| 21 | 13 September | Granada to Granada | 99.4 km (61.8 mi) | |
Flat stage | |
| Total | 3,310.6 km (2,057.1 mi) | |||||
Classification leadership
| Stage | Winner | General classification |
Points classification |
Mountains classification |
Young rider classification |
Team classification |
Combativity award |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tadej Pogačar | Tadej Pogačar | Tadej Pogačar[a] | Callum Thornley[b] | Joshua Tarling | UAE Team Emirates XRG | no award |
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- On stage 2, Ethan Hayter, who is second in the points classification, will wear the green jersey, because first placed Tadej Pogačar will wear the red jersey as the leader of the general classification.
- Although there were no points awarded towards the mountains classification during the individual time trial, the first polka dot jersey was awarded to the highest-placed rider who is not leading a classification.
Classification standings
| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Denotes the leader of the general classification |  |
Denotes the leader of the young rider classification |
 |
Denotes the leader of the points classification |  |
Denotes the leader of the team classification |
 |
Denotes the leader of the mountains classification |  |
Denotes the winner of the combativity award |
General classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) |
UAE Team Emirates XRG | 10' 57" |
| 2 |  Ethan Hayter (GBR) |
Soudal–Quick-Step | + 0" |
| 3 | Josh Tarling (GBR) |
Netcompany INEOS | + 4" |
| 4 | Callum Thornley (GBR) |
Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe | + 5" |
| 5 |  Christophe Laporte (FRA) |
Visma–Lease a Bike | + 6" |
| 6 | Léo Bisiaux (FRA) |
Decathlon CMA CGM | + 8" |
| 7 |  Oscar Chamberlain (AUS) |
Decathlon CMA CGM | + 9" |
| 8 |  Wout van Aert (BEL) |
Visma–Lease a Bike | + 9" |
| 9 |  Finn Fisher-Black (NZL) |
Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe | + 10" |
| 10 |  Arthur Kluckers (LUX) |
Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 11" |
Points classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) |
UAE Team Emirates XRG | 20 |
| 2 | Ethan Hayter (GBR) |
Soudal–Quick-Step | 17 |
| 3 | Joshua Tarling (GBR) |
Netcompany INEOS | 15 |
| 4 | Callum Thornley (GBR) |
Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe | 13 |
| 5 | Christophe Laporte (FRA) |
Visma–Lease a Bike | 11 |
| 6 | Léo Bisiaux (FRA) |
Decathlon CMA CGM | 10 |
| 7 | Oscar Chamberlain (AUS) |
Decathlon CMA CGM | 9 |
| 8 | Wout van Aert (BEL) |
Visma–Lease a Bike | 8 |
| 9 | Finn Fisher-Black (NZL) |
Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe | 7 |
| 10 | Arthur Kluckers (LUX) |
Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 6 |
Mountains classification
Young rider classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Tarling (GBR) |
Netcompany INEOS | 11' 01" |
| 2 | Callum Thornley (GBR) |
Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe | + 1" |
| 3 | Léo Bisiaux (FRA) |
Decathlon CMA CGM | + 4" |
| 4 | Oscar Chamberlain (AUS) |
Decathlon CMA CGM | + 5" |
| 5 | Finn Fisher-Black (NZL) |
Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe | + 6" |
| 6 |  Alessandro Romele (ITA) |
XDS Astana Team | + 9" |
| 7 | Matthew Brennan (GBR) |
Visma–Lease a Bike | + 12" |
| 8 |  Iván Romeo (ESP) |
Movistar Team | + 14" |
| 9 | Luke Tuckwell (AUS) |
Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe | + 17" |
| 10 | Jordan Labrosse (FRA) |
Decathlon CMA CGM | + 19" |
Team classification
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  UAE Team Emirates XRG |
33' 19" |
| 2 |  Visma–Lease a Bike |
+ 3" |
| 3 | Decathlon CMA CGM |
+ 7" |
| 4 |  Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe |
+ 8" |
| 5 | Netcompany INEOS |
+ 23" |
| 6 |  Tudor Pro Cycling Team |
+ 25" |
| 7 | Soudal–Quick-Step |
+ 36" |
| 8 | Lidl–Trek |
+ 38" |
| 9 | Movistar Team |
+ 46" |
| 10 |  XDS Astana Team |
+ 47" |