Slovenian Tadej Pogacar won the first stage of the 2026 Vuelta in Monaco on Saturday, August 22. An individual time trial of 9.4 kilometers won by nine hundredths ahead of Ethan Hayter. The Monegasque Victor Langellotti finished 29th.
The 2026 Vuelta started in Monaco with a first stage held in the form of an individual time trial. Tadej Pogacar won the 9.4 kilometers in 10 minutes and 41 seconds. The Slovenian beat Ethan Hayter by only nine hundredths.
The five-time winner of the Tour de France thus starts the Tour of Spain with a victory. The first day also allows him to take an early lead over several contenders for the general classification. Primoz Roglic, who started after Pogacar, finished 24th.
For his second participation in the Vuelta, after a third-place finish in 2019, Pogacar this time aims for overall victory. A win would allow the rider to join the eight other cyclists who have won all three Grand Tours. After his success in the Tour de France in July, the Slovenian thus began his Spanish quest with a victory in the Principality where he resides year-round.
This victory allows Pogacar to wear the first leader’s jersey of the 2026 Vuelta. Wout van Aert, Jay Vine, Mads Pedersen, Ethan Hayter and Stefan Küng were also among the riders expected for this first stage. French rider Bruno Armirail also took part in the battle for the top places.
An individual time trial traced through the streets of Monaco
The route of this first stage of the 2026 Vuelta took place over 9.4 kilometers through the streets of Monaco. The course had no major difficulty with only 59 meters of elevation gain. However, the riders had to contend with several turns and technical accelerations.
The Casino of Monte-Carlo gave the start of this first stage of the 2026 Vuelta. The 9.4 kilometers led the riders through several emblematic places of the Principality, from Larvotto beach to Louis II stadium, passing through the interior of the Fontvieille Space Tent. The finish was judged on Boulevard Albert Ier, at the location of the finish line of the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix. The course also used several sectors of the circuit, including the Loews turn, the Louis II tunnel and the Swimming Pool. With this Grand Départ, Monaco became the first city to host the start of the first stage of all three Grand Tour cycling races, after the Giro and the Tour de France.
Victor Langellotti puts in a good performance at home
Another rider was particularly awaited at the start. Victor Langellotti represented the Principality for this first stage. The 31-year-old Monegasque, now a member of the XDS-Astana team after leaving Netcompany-Ineos during the summer, wore the red and white jersey of national champion. Victor Langellotti set off at 18:39. The Monegasque rider finally finished 29th, 26 seconds behind Tadej Pogacar.
A result that accompanies a special day for the sole representative of Monaco at the start of this Vuelta. Before the start, the Principality’s rider had spoken about the importance of this home stage: « I am very happy and it is just a dream come true. This dream began in 2009 at the grand start of the Tour de France already here in Monaco. Each team was accompanied by a child to get on the podium, and I had the chance to go with Astana. Now being able to be present in Monaco with the national championship jersey and with Astana, the story is just perfect. The objective, the dream, would be to go for a stage win, to raise my arms with this beautiful jersey and I think that is also the objective for the whole team to go for stage victories. It won’t be easy, we’ll have to fight but we are all very motivated. »
The 2026 Vuelta continues with the second stage starting from Monaco. After this first meeting, the riders will leave the Principality to reach Manosque for what will be the longest stage of this edition with 214 km on the agenda.
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