The first full day of the 2026 Vuelta a España without former leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) sees the GC battle return to a much more wide-open phase, according to one of the key contenders, Felix Gall.
The standout pre-race favourite, Pogačar crashed out of the Vuelta late on stage 8 at a point when he was leading the race by an important overall margin.
The 2026 Giro d'Italia runner-up and winner of the Vuelta a Burgos in August – one of the key warm-up races for the Vuelta a España together with the Tour de Pologne - Gall was always considered a contender for GC, something he's confirmed in the first week of racing.
Latest Videos FromCyclingnews
Following Pogačar's untimely exit, Gall is currently running third overall behind Enric Mas (Movistar) and Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), 1:11 behind the Spaniard.
Before Pogačars's abandon, Gall had ruled himself out of the battle for the overall victory, with his team putting in some of the strongest performances to date in the Vuelta in the mountains, even dislodging UAE – but not Pogačar himself – from the front positions on the first crunch mountain stage through Andorra.
Speaking at the start of the next big mountain stage, to Aitana, Gall began his mixed zone interview with TV2 and other reporters by wishing Pogačar the best of luck and a speedy recovery. But at the Vuelta, he said, without the Slovenian competing, "a new race begins"
"With Tadej crashing, it was quite a shock, felt pretty unreal yesterday," Gall said.
"I wish him all the best, hopefully he'll soon be back. But that's part of cycling; today it means we have a new race now, everything is possible.
"For a few riders there are some big opportunities, also stage wins. It's a long, hard day; we will see how the teams react, but for now it's a new start to the race."
Gall said that although Decathlon would do some work on the front if needed, but noted it was up to Movistar, as race leaders, to keep control of events.
As for whether Gall could take his first ever Grand Tour victory in Granada, the Austrian climber and Tour de France stage winner said "Maybe it's possible now, but we're not even in week 2.
"Today is the queen stage, I would almost say, next to Granada, and it's certainly a key GC stage. People will want to win the stage, and there will be a big fight for the breakaway, too. Everything is possible."
For unbeatable coverage across road, gravel and tech, subscribe to Cyclingnews. You'll get comprehensive race coverage of La Vuelta a España, subscriber-exclusive analysis from our expert columnists, in-depth features and industry-leading tech insight. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! Join today.
