Pogacar handshake with Pedro Delgado
On stage 2 of the Vuelta a España, Tadej Pogačar took third place for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with the result enough to see the stage 1 winner retain the red leader’s jersey.
The Slovenian, by now well known for competing on all terrains, mixed it with the fast men in an uphill sprint to the line in Manosque. Matthew Brennan of Visma-Lease a Bike landed the day’s honours, with Pogačar not far behind in third.
Just a couple of kilometres earlier, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man had followed a stinging attack from Brennan’s teammate, Wout van Aert. As the Belgian surged forward in an attempt to wrestle hold of Pogačar’s Red Jersey, the 27-year-old responded and powered clear of the peloton.
It was primarily Lidl-Trek that made the effort to close the gap to the leading trio (Alessandro Romele of XDS Astana Team had added his name to the mix), before the peloton contested an uphill sprint to determine the day’s winner.
Brennan went long for Visma-Lease a Bike and was rewarded, as the stage 1 winner Pogačar gave his all to the line.
Pogačar retains his lead of the race heading into Monday’s stage 3, with the Slovenian animating the race right from the first moments in Monaco. His eyes will remain focused on the general classification, but the world champion has long since shown his appetite for winning stages along the way.
Pogačar: “It was to be expected [for Van Aert] to attack, but I was a little bit too late to react, and he opened a good gap. Over the top, on the flat part, I still had to push. He was looking around, and I finally caught him. I should have committed if we had a chance to win, but I also knew that he had Matthew Brennan in the back. I tried to stay in his wheel and hope he would commit to the finish line, but also I had a lot of lactate in the legs. I was just happy to take third place in the end.
“It was all in for the stage win, and I just tried to be there and follow the hard moves.”
Vuelta a España 2026 stage 2 results:
- Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike) 4:47:47
- Miquel Pau (Bahrain Victorious) s.t
- Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) s.t
Vuelta a España 2026 general classification after stage 2:
- Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 4:58:40
- Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) +9″
- Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike) +10″
