Tadej Pogačar stamps authority on Vuelta a España with narrow stage one time-trial victory in Monaco

pogacar time trial vuelta — (Image credit: Getty Images)

0.09 seconds was all that separated reigning Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar with British champion Ethan Hayter in the opening time-trial of the Vuelta a España.

On a 9.4km course that took in parts of the Monaco Formula One street circuit, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man laid down an early marker to his General Classification rivals.

Pogačar was three seconds down on Soudal-QuickStep's Hayter at the intermediate check, but pegged back the 27-year-old to deny him a maiden Grand Tour stage win by the narrowest of margins, finishing with a time of 10:57. Joshua Tarling (Netcompany-Ineos), racing just over a week after the death of his brother, Finlay, finished in third place.

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A third British rider, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's Callum Thornley, enjoyed a breakthrough performance in fourth place, just five seconds behind Pogačar.

Pogačar is racing the Vuelta a España for the first time since his Grand Tour debut in 2019, when he finished third. He is looking to complete his Grand Tour set, with the Spanish race being the only three-weeker he is yet to win. Pogačar will wear the leader's red jersey on stage two.

Pogačar's closest overall rival after the opener is his team-mate João Almeida, who sits in 18th, 18 seconds down. Netcompany-Ineos' Carlos Rodriguez is among the next contenders 27 seconds back, while Oscar Onley struggled 50 seconds in arrears. Four-time champion Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) finished 59 seconds behind Pogačar, while Giro d'Italia podium finisher Felix Gall (Decathlon-CMA CGM) is 46 seconds down.

How it Happened

On the opening stage of the Vuelta a España, the riders set off from the steps of the world-famous Casino de Monte-Carlo, and it was Tadej Pogačar who had the best hand.

Matthew Brennan (Visma-Leasea Bike) set the early benchmark on a technical course which wound its way past Monaco's yachts and through the Festival International de Monte-Carlo.

Brennan was overcome by a brace of Decathlon-CMA CGM riders before another emerging Briton took to the hot-seat. Callum Thornley of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe completed the 9.4km course in 11:02, the man from Peebles in the Scottish Borders putting in his most impressive time-trial performance to date.

Shortly after, it was the turn of Josh Tarling, racing the Vuelta just over a week after the passing of his brother Finlay Tarling. The Netcompany-Ineos rider finished a second ahead of Thornley in 11:01, with 25 riders still to finish.

Just before the biggest names got underway, another Brit made an impact: national time-trial champion Ethan Hayter. The Soudal-QuickStep rider made it a provisional British 1-2-3 as he became the first man under 11 minutes.

Visma-Lease a Bike’s Wout van Aert was the fourth-from-final finisher, but the Belgian was down on the lead at the intermediate split. He finished nine seconds down on Hayter, but may have a chance to move into the red jersey over the coming stages.

Penultimate finisher Tadej Pogačar, the heavy favourite for the overall title, was three seconds behind Hayter at the time split after 5.7km. In the end, he beat Hayter by just a whisker to make the perfect start to his Vuelta challenge.

Four-time Vuelta winner Primož Roglič was the final rider on the course. The Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider finished well down and now has a deficit of almost a minute to his compatriot.

The Vuelta continues on Sunday with a 214km stage starting in Monaco and finishing in Manosque.

Results

Vuelta a España 2026, stage 1: Monaco > Monaco, 138.3km

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG in 10:57
2. Ethan Hayter (GBr) Soudal-QuickStep, +0.09s
3. Joshua Tarling (GBr) Netcompany-Ineos, +4s
4. Callum Thornley (GBr) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +5s
5. Christophe Laporte (Fra) Visma-Lease a Bike, +6s
6. Léo Bisiaux (Fra) Decathlon-CMA CGM, +8s
7. Oscar Chamberlain (Aus) Decathlon CMA-CGM, +9s
8. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike, +9s
9. Finn Fisher-Black (NZe) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +10s
10. Arthur Kluckers (Lux) Tudor, +11s

General Classification after stage 1

Dan Challis is a freelance journalist based in the Scottish Borders. As well as writing for Cycling Weekly and CyclingNews, Dan also writes a weekly newsletter called Global Peloton.