2026 Vuelta a España preview, part two: The riders to watch

Every rider has an agenda at the final Grand Tour of the season. Working out what that is is harder for some than others.

It wouldn’t happen at the other two Grand Tours.

Just eight days out from the start of the 2026 Vuelta, there were only 89 riders listed on Procyclingstats’ provisional startlist.

We still needed another 95 names…

There were just two complete teams – UAE Team Emirates-XRG, the team containing overwhelming favourite, Tadej Pogačar, and Movistar. I’m not including the XDS Astana Team because they provided ten names, which was two too many.

That meant there were 21 teams yet to finalise their rosters – just one week out from the third-biggest stage race of the year!

The Vuelta is an unusual beast because there are many more ambitions afoot than the Giro d’Italia or the Tour de France.

Yes, you have those who wish to finish on the podium by the time the race ends in Granada on September 13.

You also have those who have studied the roadbook and are intent on winning a stage, or at the very least being noticed, because their current contract is expiring and to remain employed they need a result – and a big one at that.

You have those who want to wear the maillot rojo or La Roja, the race leader’s jersey, even for a day. Unlike the Tour, the other classifications aren’t as fiercely contested; they tend to be a by-product of a different objective, or an afterthought based on circumstance.

From a team perspective, you have equipos who wish to accumulate UCI points to remain in the top 10-15 in the WorldTeam rankings and stay far away from potential relegation when team licences are reviewed and renewed. (For what it’s worth, we’re only one year in to the 2026-28 cycle, though WorldTour teams are nonetheless cognisant of their place on the ladder; more on that situation here: Spin Cycle: Musical chairs, WorldTour-style)

And you have those who, before they even line up in Monaco for their 9.4 kilometre test of truth on Saturday, August 22, have already decided they won’t ride all 21 stages.

They’ve already made an exit strategy. Reason being, this year’s road world championships begin in Montréal, Canada, on September 20, just a week after the Vuelta ends.

However that is the elite individual time trial and the blue riband event, the elite men’s road race, will not take place till Sunday, September 27. So, for those vying for the rainbow jersey, I would say a fortnight’s break will be ample time to recover.

Besides the 18 WorldTour teams on the startlist, like the Giro and Tour, Vuelta organiser Unipublic (which Amaury Sport Organisation, who owns the Tour de France, has a majority stake in) is obliged to invite the three highest-ranked UCI ProTeams in 2025 – namely, Tudor Pro Cycling, Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling and Cofidis – and can also select two teams of their choice, which this year are Spanish teams Burgos Burpellet BH and Equipo Kern Pharma.

Who will flank The Pog in Granada?

It goes without saying that as far as the overall classification is concerned, anything other than a resounding Pogačar triumph will be viewed as a rabbit-out-of-hat performance.

The most unusual thing about The Pog’s palmarès thus far is that he has not won the Vuelta – yet.

In 2019, aged 20, it was the first Grand Tour he rode, where he finished third on GC (behind countryman Primož Roglič and Alejandro Valverde) and won a hat-trick of stages.

Other than 2024 when he won the Giro-Tour double he has only ridden the Tour since – though his performance two years ago is proof that two Grandies in a season won’t be a problem for him.

Furthermore, he’s even better than he was in 2024 – physically and mentally. Five stage wins and a 6’26 margin over Remco Evenepoel – who won the Vuelta in 2022 – says one thing, but it was Pogačar’s unwavering dominance throughout this year’s Tour that told the cycling world this was the G.O.A.T. at the peak of his powers.

It therefore feels disingenuous of me to say, ‘So, who can challenge Pogačar?’; I’ll instead ask, ‘So, mishap aside, who will stand alongside him in Granada?’

As a Grand Tour champion, winning the Giro in 2019, and Vuelta runner-up in 2020, Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) is perhaps the most likely candidate.

His team certainly think so. “Richard Carapaz will race the 2026 Vuelta a España with one aim: to stand on the final general classification podium in Granada,” read the first sentence of a press release Tuesday this week.

He lit up the final week of the Tour and rode the Tour-Vuelta before, in 2024, where he finished 17th and 4th on GC. Different to how he rode the Tour, the Ecuadorian acknowledges he’ll need to tame his trademark pugnacity and, over the three weeks, ride more conservatively.

“It’s a different approach compared to the Tour. I believe we have a great opportunity; we know what the race is like and we’re familiar with most of the route. Ultimately, this is what motivates me the most,” he said.

“It’s a very mountainous race and it will be difficult, but difficult in the sense that we can actually contend for the general classification. Seeing myself fighting up there for three weeks will be important. It’s a mentality I’ve always had, and it motivates me a lot for this Vuelta.”

Added Carapaz: “Since we’re going in with the mentality of winning the race, we have to race a bit smarter. We need to look for the right moments to attack and make our moves in the right places. We will also need to be a bit more conservative, keeping in mind that the race isn’t decided in a single day, but over three weeks.

“The key for us is to maintain our concentration, optimize our performance on our best days to gain time, and try to limit our losses as much as possible on the difficult days.”

It wouldn’t be a complete shock for either Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) or Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) to flank The Pog in Granada.

In May, 28-year-old Austrian Gall posted his best-ever Grand Tour result by finishing runner-up to Jonas Vingegaard at the Giro, while 25-year-old Dane Skjelmose produced a career-best performance at the Tour, finishing sixth, although he did finish fifth overall at the 2024 Vuelta.

Also, Gall’s American team-mate Matthew Riccitello ran fifth overall at last year’s Vuelta and rode a great Tour de France in support of Paul Seixas, while still finishing 24th on GC.

As far as TV viewing is concerned this wouldn’t be the most palatable scenario, though in João Almeida, it’s entirely possible there could be two UAE Team Emirates-XRG riders on the final podium, just as there were in July.

In ten Grand Tour outings the 28-year-old from Portugal has finished five times in the top five and was runner-up to Vingegaard at last year’s Vuelta, just 1’16 in arrears.

Four-time Vuelta champion Roglič will be there flying the flag for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, though judging from his age (36) and stage race results this season, alas, he’s becoming a spent force.

If you’re looking for a dark horse, better to place your bets on the new crop of talent, such as Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar, 8th GC at the 2023 Vuelta) or Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS, 4th GC, 2025 TdF).

Breakaway bets…

As far as stage hunters go, you can’t go past the likes of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Wout van Aert (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), who, together with a slew of others, will be fine-tuning their engines for the upcoming road worlds in Montréal.

Last year Pedersen, after being part of an original 47-man escape, claimed victory on the fifteenth stage (his fourth Vuelta stage win) and posted three more top-three finishes, as well as winning the points classification. Van Aert has three Vuelta stage wins to his name, which all came in 2024.

Other solid breakaway bets include Pogačar’s Aussie team-mate Jay Vine, a four-time Vuelta stage winner and two-time Vuelta king of the mountains (2022, ‘25); New Zealander Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), who’s having a breakout year in Classics and the shorter stage races he’s contested; and Harold Tejada (XDS Astana Team), the Colombian narrowly missing out on a stage win at this year’s Tour (he lost a two-man sprint to Mauro Schmid on Stage 13).

There’s also Belgium’s Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar Team), who finished eighth overall at the ‘23 Vuelta but hasn’t been able to reproduce the same form since, posting DNFs in his subsequent three Grand Tours; when he’s in top shape, the entertaining Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious), the 26-year-old from Bogotá a double stage winner at the Giro but in four Vuelta participations has so far come up short; and former Jayco-AlUla rider Filippo Zana (Soudal Quick-Step), also owner of a Giro stage, who narrowly missed out on a stage victory atop Lagos de Covadonga at the 2024 Vuelta.

A handful of Aussies…

Besides the aforementioned Zwift Academy alumnus Jay Vine, who will be there to support Pogačar when the going gets high (altitude), at the time of writing the second part of this preview, there were just two other Aussies on the preliminary startlist: Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla) and Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe).

The Monday before the start, however, Plapp’s name had been subbed out and Jayco-AlUla will now send two Aussie Grand Tour debutants.

Launceston-born neo pro Hamish McKenzie, solid in both stage races and time trials, will do what he can to support stage-hunting team leader Paul Double of Great Britain; New South Welshman Rudy Porter, meanwhile, in his third year on the WorldTour, will also act in a support role while also discovering his worth as a general classification aspirant.

Like McKenzie, having stepped up to the elite ranks only this year, Tuckwell is yet to ride a Grand Tour – but his career is already on the march.

Last June, the 22-year-old from the NSW Central Tablelands town of Orange showed great promise by almost winning the Baby Giro; this year, his sixth place overall at the Tour de Romandie and finishing runner-up at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (formerly the Critérium du Dauphiné) – to Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) no less – delivered on that promise and showed what an exciting future he has.

It would not be surprising to see 1.82-metre tall Lanky Luke surpass his ageing leader Roglič and do something magical in the mountains of the Vuelta.

For 31-year-old Chris Hamilton (Team Picnic PostNL), the 2026 Vuelta will mark his sixteenth Grand Tour.

The experienced climber has come close to winning a stage before – he was third on a stage in the 2021 and 2023 Vueltas – and will be given free rein to take flight once again; his lack of punch in a small group sprint means he’ll almost certainly have to win solo if he’s to win at all.

Vuelta a España: Prize money*

Position	Total
1st overall	€150,000
2nd	€57,985
3rd	€30,000
4th	€15,000
5th	€12,500
6th	€9,000
7th	€9,000
8th	€6,000
9th	€6,000
10th–20th	€3,800
Total GC prizemoney	€337,285

Other classifications

Stage winners: €11,000 (2nd: €5,500; 3rd: €2,700)

Points: €11,000 (2nd: €5,000; 3rd: €2,000)

Mountains: €13,000 (2nd: €6,600; 3rd: €2,500)

Best Young Rider: €11,000 (2nd: €5,000; 3rd: €2,000)

Best Team: €12,500 (2nd: €7,500; 3rd: €5,500)

Total prize pool: €1,115,775

* 2026 prizemoney figures yet to be released at time of writing; amounts taken from 2025 regulations