Vuelta a España: Tadej Pogačar survives near-crash on descent for third victory of the race on stage 6

Team UAE's Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar celebrates as he crosses first the finish line of the sixth stage of the Vuelta a Espana 2026
Pogacar wins his third stage of the Vuelta a Espana (Image credit: Getty Images)

After what looked nailed on to be approaching another Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) solo exhibition, stage 6 of the Vuelta a España saw the race leader show rare weakness as he was chased down after attacking. He was forced to battle out the victory in a two-up sprint with a rejuvenated Enric Mas (Movistar).

Pogačar still emerged victorious in Castelló after a brutal day of all-out racing, but the sight of the red jersey being pulled back and briefly overtaken is perhaps the shock of the 2026 race so far, with his air on invincibility being challenged.

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James Moultrie
News Writer

James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.

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