🎥 Jury hands out 2 yellow cards at Vuelta a España for elbowing and endangering rider safety

Orluis Aular finished sixth on Wednesday in the fifth stage of the Vuelta a España, which was won by Matthew Brennan . But the Venezuelan was subsequently relegated to last place in the group. This was due to an incident involving his NSN teammate Alexey Lutsenko, who also received a penalty.

The broadcast did not immediately show any footage of the incident, but the jury report revealed that Aular had failed to follow the rules. Officially, Aular was accused of deviating from his line, thereby obstructing another rider and putting him in danger during the final sprint with an elbow strike.

He was fined 500 Swiss francs for this, as well as receiving an 8-point deduction in the points standings, a demotion in the results, and a yellow card. Lutsenko received a yellow card for deviating from his chosen line and endangering another rider during the final sprint by throwing an elbow.

Video footage of Wednesday's sprint shows Lutsenko holding onto Aular's saddle, causing the Movistar rider to swerve to the right. Fortunately, both riders stayed upright.

Stage 6 of the 2026 Vuelta a España runs 178 km from Alcossebre to Castellón de la Plana with 3,000 meters of elevation. After rolling terrain, the day features the long Puerto de La Serratella (14.1 km at 3.9%), the Coll de la Bandereta, and the Alto del Desierto de las Palmas (7.5 km at 5.1%) before the decisive Puerto El Bartolo (9.4 km at 7%), whose final, unpaved kilometers ramp up to 20%.

The summit comes 20 km from a largely flat run-in. Hot, windy conditions from the south could create echelons. While a breakaway has a chance, the brutal final climb suits Tadej Pogacar, with GC threats like Felix Gall, Primoz Roglic, Oscar Onley, and Richard Carapaz also well-suited. Numerous strong attackers and climbers could contend if the GC riders allow a break to go. Start 1:11 p.m. CET; finish around 5:20 p.m. CET. Read more here