Tronchon stuns at La Vuelta to win stage 10 as Van Aert narrowly misses out

Bastien Tronchon has won the tenth stage of La Vuelta a España 2026 after a 184.7-kilometer day between Alcaraz and Elche de la Sierra that ended with a reduced and very chaotic sprint. The Frenchman from Groupama-FDJ surprised Magnus Cort and Thibau Nys, while Wout van Aert, one of the big favorites, could only finish fourth after his sprint was affected by the chaos in the final meters.

Bastien Tronchon surprises in Elche de la Sierra and Van Aert misses a great opportunity

The second week of La Vuelta began with a stage that was difficult to control. The route offered hardly any flat terrain, although the three categorized climbs were not significant enough to create differences among the general classification contenders. The outcome, as expected, remained open between a breakaway with options and a sprint of resilient riders.

The breakaway of the day ended up consolidating with seven riders: Enzo Paleni, Michael Gogl, Fredrik Dversnes, Jasha Sütterlin, Fabian Weiss, Sinuhé Fernández, and Ivan Cobo. Visma-Lease a Bike and Cofidis took on much of the chase, aware that Wout van Aert, Matthew Brennan, and Bryan Coquard had a clear opportunity if they managed to neutralize the attackers.

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The advantage never shot up significantly. The breakaway riders usually maintained a lead of one to three minutes, while the peloton managed the difference in a stage marked by continuous broken terrain.

The race began to break apart definitively in the final part. The climb to the Puerto de Socovos, 9.8 kilometers at 3.6%, selected the group and left several fast riders out of contention. Mads Pedersen was one of the most notable names to drop before the summit, confirming that he is still far from the level shown during the Tour.

Thibau Nys, on the other hand, showed very good legs. The Belgian entered several moves during the ascent and even accompanied an attack that also featured Sepp Kuss and Richard Carapaz. Enric Mas had to stay alert, although none of those moves managed to open significant gaps in the general classification.

Visma works for Van Aert, but the sprint turns into chaos

After cresting the last climb, there were still more than twenty kilometers to the finish, and control became increasingly complicated. Matthew Brennan took on a completely different role than in previous days: instead of waiting for the sprint, he was used to respond to attacks and then work for Van Aert.

With five kilometers to go, there were still moves at the front. Walter Calzoni managed to ride solo, while behind, Visma began to run out of teammates. Brennan had to take on the chase, and Van Aert was left practically as the only option for the outcome.

The situation became even more complicated within the last kilometer. Yevgeniy Fedorov and Xabier Mikel Azparren managed to open a few meters and forced the peloton to accelerate without a clearly organized train.

Groupama-FDJ was one of the teams that ended up closing the gap, and Tronchon perfectly took advantage of that work. The Frenchman appeared launched from behind and won clearly, ahead of Magnus Cort and Thibau Nys.

Van Aert, who had arrived well positioned, did not find a clean line. He had to change lanes in the decisive meters and ended up sitting down before he could fully develop his sprint. He finished fourth on a day that, on paper, was one of his best opportunities to secure a victory.

For Tronchon, it represents a victory of enormous value in La Vuelta, achieved against several of the fastest and most resilient riders in the race.

Enric Mas, for his part, completed the day without issues and continues at the top of the general classification after the victory achieved at the Alto de Aitana before the rest day.

Top 10 of stage 10

1. Bastien Tronchon (Groupama-FDJ United) — 4:07:41
2. Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) — +00
3. Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) — +00
4. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) — +00
5. Alessandro Romele (XDS Astana) — +00
6. Xabier Mikel Azparren (Pinarello-Q36.5) — +00
7. Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) — +00
8. Orluis Aular (Movistar Team) — +00
9. Jordan Labrosse (Decathlon CMA CGM) — +00
10. Hugo Hofstetter (NSN Cycling Team) — +00