Brennan claims his first Vuelta win after a Van Aert attack answered by Pogačar

Matthew Brennan has achieved his first stage victory in a Grand Tour in Manosque after a day in which Visma-Lease a Bike played several cards to also try to take the lead. Wout van Aert cut time in the bonuses and attacked in the last two kilometers, but Tadej Pogačar responded immediately. When everything came back together, Brennan finished the job with an uncontestable sprint. The Slovenian was third and remains in red.

Brennan finishes Visma's work on a day marked by the fight for the lead

The first road stage of La Vuelta a España 2026 took the peloton from Monaco to Manosque in a long, broken day with nearly 3,000 meters of accumulated ascent. From the start, it was clear that the fight would not be limited to just the stage victory.

The breakaway ended up consisting of Koen Bouwman, Diego Uriarte, Sinuhé Fernández, and Ethan Hayter, the latter especially dangerous after finishing the opening time trial at the same time as Pogačar.

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Bouwman took advantage of the move to focus on the mountains and passed first over both the Alto de Châteauneuf-Grasse and the Col de Saint Andrieu, securing six points and the lead in that classification.

Behind, Visma-Lease a Bike and Lidl-Trek always kept the difference controlled, thinking about the finish, although Hayter's presence added a second front to the race.

The Brit ended up going solo and managed to reach the intermediate sprint at Gréoux-les-Bains ahead, where he took the six seconds of bonus. With them, he became the virtual leader of La Vuelta.

Van Aert responded from the peloton and was second at that same point, adding four seconds. The Belgian thus reduced part of his disadvantage to Pogačar, although Hayter's presence ahead further complicated his chances of donning red.

Van Aert tries and Pogačar responds

Once the break was neutralized, the race entered a fast and technical final kilometers, with Visma-Lease a Bike, Lidl-Trek, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG taking positions.

With less than two kilometers to go, the most anticipated move arrived. Van Aert attacked and Pogačar was the only one able to follow him immediately. For a few moments, both were ahead of the group, but the Belgian ended up easing off upon realizing he couldn't shake the leader.

This move gave way to Visma's second option.

With the group back together inside the last kilometer, Matthew Brennan was perfectly positioned to contest the sprint. The Brit launched from the front and quickly opened a gap that no one could close.

Brennan crossed the finish line clearly and thus achieved his first stage victory in a Grand Tour. Behind, Pau Miquel surprised with second place, while Pogačar finished third and added four seconds of bonus.

Mads Pedersen, one of the day's big favorites, ended up fourth after losing some strength in the final meters.

Pogačar retains the red and Van Aert remains 9 seconds behind

The four seconds gained by Pogačar at the finish were enough to maintain the lead after Hayter could not contest the top positions at the finish.

Van Aert, despite having added four seconds in the intermediate sprint and having attacked in the final part, remains second overall at 9 seconds.

The big beneficiary of the day was also Visma-Lease a Bike. In addition to the victory, Brennan rises to third place overall, 10 seconds behind Pogačar, leaving the Dutch team with two riders immediately behind the red jersey.

The stage also saw the first withdrawal of La Vuelta. Sergio Chumil suffered a severe fall and had to abandon due to problems with his left shoulder.

Top 10 stage 2 of La Vuelta a España 2026

1. Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike) – 4:47:47
2. Pau Miquel (Bahrain Victorious) – +00"
3. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – +00"
4. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) – +00"
5. Hugo Hofstetter (NSN Cycling Team) – +00"
6. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – +00"
7. Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – +00"
8. Axel Laurance (Netcompany INEOS) – +00"
9. Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS) – +00"
10. Orluis Aular (Movistar Team) – +00"

Top 10 overall after stage 2

1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 4:58:40
2. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) – +9"
3. Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike) – +10"
4. Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA CGM) – +12"
5. Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – +14"
6. Stefan Küng (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – +18"
7. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – +18"
8. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) – +20"
9. Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – +26"
10. Jordan Labrosse (Decathlon CMA CGM) – +26"