2026 Vuelta a España stage 8 preview | Visma | Lease a Bike Counts on a Powerhouse in a Tricky Finale

It may not always be thrilling, but as cycling fans, we’re truly spoiled by the string of grueling stages in the Vuelta a España. After a rare opportunity for a breakaway, the fast riders on duty will have to push hard again in the eighth stage if they want to force a third sprint opportunity in this Vuelta a España in Xeraco.

Stage 8 of the Vuelta a España runs from Pucol to Xeraco on Saturday, covering 171 kilometers. There are only 1,280 meters of climbing in the stage, but the Vuelta wouldn’t be the Vuelta if it hadn’t come up with a trick as the race nears its conclusion. As mentioned, the sprinters won’t have it easy—not even on this second Saturday of the race.

Since the wind isn’t expected to play a major role during the flat opening stages in Spain, all eyes are on the 8.6-kilometer climb with an average gradient of 3.6 percent, which peaks 23 kilometers from the finish. This Puerto de Barx may seem like a walk in the park, but the gradients listed on Climbfinder suggest otherwise.

Since the opening and closing sections can actually be described as slightly uphill, this allows for gradients of over 6 percent in the middle section of what is, after all, a fairly long climb. If a sprinters’ team with a strong climber wants to make a move here, it can set a fast pace. Or an attacker might still try something here.

After the climb, we descend fairly quickly and quite steeply back to sea level, before racing at breakneck speed toward the finish line in Xeraco. There are still a few sharp turns in the final kilometers, but it’s not all that technical. The final straight is flat and runs along the coast. Who’s going to raise their hands?

Times
Start: 1:42 p.m CET
Finish: 5:30 p.m CET

As mentioned, the weather is not expected to be too unpredictable on Saturday, with temperatures approaching 30 degrees and a wind force 2 from the southeast. In the second half of the stage, the wind will blow more from the east, but a wind force 3 usually doesn’t cause any problems for the peloton.

After a few days of climbing and attacking, we can bring the fast riders back into the mix, because this is a stage they’ve circled in red. Wout van Aert was given the green light for Visma | Lease a Bike in Stage 7, as Matthew Brennan will be aiming for his third stage win in Stage 8. The Brit has been unbeatable so far and is therefore the clear favorite for this final stage.

Now that we’ve already seen sprints on Day 2 and Day 5, the relative standings are pretty clear. Still, Jordi Meeus of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe will be hoping to make his move in a truly flat bunch sprint. The Belgian will just have to handle that climb well. The same goes for riders like Alberto Dainese (Soudal Quick-Step) and Steffen De Schuyteneer (Lotto Intermarché).

The riders who handle climbs better and clear lactate from their systems more quickly proved to be the more realistic options in the previous two stages. Vincenzo Albanese stood out for EF Education-EasyPost, Alessandro Romele is off to a strong start to the season for XDS Astana, and Axel Laurance and Ben Turner are the riders to watch for Netcompany INEOS. Turner will have the edge.

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility), representing Denmark, haven’t quite found their best form yet, but perhaps it will gradually start to emerge as we head toward the end of the first week of racing? The same goes for Kaden Groves, who will be hoping for better results with Alpecin-Premier Tech.

At Movistar, we’re counting on Orluis Aular again, while David Gonzalez (Pinarello-Q36.5) and Vito Braet (Lotto) could sprint for a nice podium finish. Hugo Hofstetter ( NSN) and Marc Brustenga (Equipo Kern Pharma) have also already made their mark, and what about the Cofidis duo Alexis Renard and Bryan Coquard? Will one of them step out of line?

Top Favorite: Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Dark horses: Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), and Ben Turner (Netcompany INEOS)
Long shots: Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Alberto Dainese (Soudal Quick-Step), Steffen De Schuyteneer (Lotto Intermarché), Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost), Alessandro Romele (XDS Astana), Axel Laurance (Netcompany INEOS), Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility), Orluis Aular (Movistar), Hugo Hofstetter (NSN), and Bryan Coquard (Cofidis)