Nine hundredths for the red jersey
Nine hundredths of a second. That was the margin between Tadej Pogacar and a very different opening night at the 2026 Vuelta.
The Slovenian won Saturday’s 9.4-kilometre time trial through the streets of Monaco in 10’57″14. Ethan Hayter was next best in 10’57″23.
Hayter had set the early benchmark, too. He was the first man under 11 minutes and still held a two-second lead over Josh Tarling at the intermediate check, before stretching that advantage to the line. Pogacar started among the later riders, on roads he knows well from training. He lives in the Principality. He was behind Hayter at the split, then turned it around over the second half of the course.
Tarling completed the podium, four seconds back. Callum Thornley finished fourth on his Grand Tour debut, five seconds down. Christophe Laporte took fifth.
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The favourites already on the back foot
Wout van Aert lost about nine seconds. Mads Pedersen dropped 16. Both men are targeting the uphill finish on stage two to go after the red jersey. They will have to chase Pogacar now.
Primoz Roglic completed the course in 11’19″14, 22 seconds off the pace. The four-time Vuelta winner came into the race after a training crash that disrupted his build-up. Carlos Rodriguez lost 27 seconds, Richard Carapaz 33. Sepp Kuss, the 2023 winner, was 45 seconds down. Felix Gall, runner-up at last year’s Giro, lost 46. Oscar Onley finished about 50 seconds behind.
Bruno Armirail saw his time wrecked by a mechanical that forced a bike change.
The one Grand Tour still missing
The Vuelta remains the gap on Pogacar’s roll of honour. Five Tours de France, a Giro, no Tour of Spain. He opens this edition in red on the first evening, with an immediate edge over his general classification rivals.
Monaco, for its part, becomes the first city to have hosted the start of all three Grand Tours.
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