Pogačar wins his third despite a scary moment, and red-hot Mas shows that the Slovenian is not immortal
CyclingThursday, 27 August 2026 at 17:36
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Follow us on GoogleThe sixth stage of the Vuelta a España was won by Tadej Pogačar. The Slovenian claimed his third stage victory in the Tour of Spain, but did show some chinks in his armour. He was caught on the climb by Enric Mas (Movistar), who finished second in the sprint. Mas did, however, gain over thirty seconds on a group of general classification riders, in which Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech) finished third.
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The Puerto El Bartolo is 9.4 kilometers long with a 7 percent gradient, but the second half is a real monster. The final three kilometers never dip below 8 percent, and the gradient even peaks at 20 percent!
But that’s not even the only thing that makes this climb special. The final kilometers are also unpaved. It makes it a sort of mini-Finestre in Spain. The summit is twenty kilometers from the finish line, after which a long descent follows. The final nine kilometers are virtually flat, with a fairly winding route to the finish.
A stage like this was therefore seen as a wonderful opportunity for the breakaway riders. And there are plenty of them in Spain. The opening phase of the sixth stage was, therefore, quite chaotic. Attack after attack, but no one really managed to break away. This meant that fifty kilometers were covered in the first hour of racing—even though it included a 14-kilometer climb.
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Even Pogačar gets in on the action during a bizarre opening phase
We often saw riders like Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA CGMA), Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), and Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) at the front, but breaking away proved extremely difficult. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), who had a tough day on Wednesday, struggled again: he had to drop back early. After seventy kilometers of racing, however, it finally looked like we had a breakaway group.
Gijs Leemreize (Picnic PostNL), Buitrago, George Bennett (NSN), and Andreas Kron (Uno-X Mobility) were later joined by, among others, Van Aert, Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost), Patrick Konrad (Lidl-Trek), Thomas Gloag (Pinarello - Q36.5), and Gianmarco Garofoli (Soudal Quick-Step): a leading group of sixteen, in the end.
A large group of riders was still trying to break away, and we even saw Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) joining them. The red jersey’s team had already put in a lot of work at the front, as a stage win for the Slovenian wasn’t out of the question. Now he was trying to see if he could break away on his own, but that attempt failed. And so, calm finally seemed to have returned: the breakaway riders had a one-minute lead over the peloton.
Read more below the video!
Van Aert scores important points, but struggles on the climb
That lead only grew, but UAE Team Emirates continued to ride hard at the front, ensuring the gap never exceeded 2.30 minutes. So it looked like it was going to be Pogacar’s day after all. There was another intermediate sprint along the way, and Van Aert took it: the Belgian was the only rider in the lead group to make a move, securing second place in the points classification.
That was a great move by the Visma | Lease a Bike rider, but a few kilometers later, it was game over for him. On the Alto del Desierto de las Palmas, the second-to-last climb of the day, Bahrain Victorious began to pick up the pace in the lead group. That meant Van Aert, as one of the first riders at the front, had to let them go.
The breakaway group split up on that penultimate climb but later regrouped. Only Van Aert was caught by the peloton. But the breakaway group began the final, grueling climb with a lead of less than two minutes. And even if Pogacar were to go all out, that probably wouldn’t be enough. Debruyne, the highest-placed rider at the front, could also kiss the red jersey goodbye.
Read more below the video!
UAE picks up the pace for Pogačar
UAE Team Emirates-XRG kept pushing the pace. First it was Jay Vine, and finally it was Pablo Torres. By the time the young Spaniard had done his job, the gap was down to just thirty seconds. At that moment, the riders turned right onto the toughest part of the climb: Pogacar immediately picked up the pace. Not blistering, but a solid pace.
Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS), Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Enric Mas (Movistar), and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) kept up for a short while, but they, too, were quickly dropped. At the front, Debruyne was the strongest climber, but he was quickly caught by the unleashed red monster, who made gradients well into the 20 percent range look like nothing.
Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) later caught up with the chasing group, but Mas proved to be the strongest of the bunch. He pulled away and, bit by bit, closed the gap on the red jersey wearer. Just before the summit, he even caught up with the leader! The gap to Roglic, Gall, and Debruyne was 35 seconds, while Carapaz and Onley had already fallen more than a minute behind on this grueling climb.
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Read more below the photo!
Pogačar nearly crashes while trying to get away from on-fire Enric Mas
He even took the mountain points on the climb, but Pogacar was furious. He didn’t like being caught up with and tried to break away on the descent. That almost went completely wrong: he missed a turn and barely managed to stay upright on the shoulder. Mas took over and gestured: “Take it easy, I know these roads.” For the legendary Slovenian, that must have been a painful blow.
Fortunately, the red jersey wearer decided to stay on the wheel of his Spanish breakaway companion. He knew the roads, but still didn’t descend quickly. So the second group closed in bit by bit. 25 riders, 20 riders… It was fast-paced. But once on the flat, Pogacar was able to contribute again, meaning the gap slowly but surely widened. Onley was with Mattias Skjelmose and Sepp Kuss, amongst others: they would lose a lot more time.
Carapaz and Harold Tejada (XDS Astana) joined the chasers, but they couldn’t catch up with the leaders. At the front, the question was: how on earth would Enric Mas beat Tadej Pogacar? It seemed impossible, and that proved to be the case. The Slovenian easily claimed his third stage win, but the Spaniard did gain time on his rivals: the gap to third-placed Debruyne was substantial, at over three-quarters of a minute.
Result stage 6 of the 2026 Vuelta a España
- Tadej Pogačar
- Enric Mas
- Rameses DeBruyne
David Bavin-HobbsChief Editor
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.
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Latest Comments
- - Pog is incredible but sometimes too brave. On Spanish roads with that variable camber, a “gentle” turn can bite. Bueno espectáculo, pero cuidado tío!julien27-08-2026
- - How big was the time gap at the finish after the scare? The article didn’t list GC time differences and I’m confused who kept the red jersey and by how much.andrewf27-08-2026
- - Great write-up, but tiny correction: isn’t it UAE Team Emirates, not “UAE Emirates-XRG”? Unless there’s a new co-sponsor I missed?breakawaybikerd27-08-2026
- - Did anyone else catch what Mas actually said when he gestured to ease up? Looked like a smart call from Enric given his reputation on downhills. Surprised Tadej didn’t heed it for once.tourdeforce927-08-2026
- - Heart in mouth watching that descent. Pogacar riding on the ragged edge, then somehow saves it on the shoulder… absolute cat reflexes. Fair play to Mas for the savvy move over the top.sprocketspiny27-08-2026
- - Pogi turning the Vuelta into a “training camp” for Worlds made me laugh and cry. It’s dominance, but also kind of dull to watch if no one tries anything. Vamos Felix Gall, keep swinging!julien27-08-2026
- - Bit harsh to say the “illusion” is gone. Tactically, Decathlon and others could still stress UAE on crosswind days or long-range raids. Stage 10-12 terrain might allow satellite riders to force UAE to spend domestiques. Not likely, but not impossible.patriciaw27-08-2026
- - Is leading from day 1 actually that rare? The article mentions Merckx in 1970 and Rominger in ’94, but how often did guys like Indurain or Contador do near wire-to-wire? Feels like we’re missing some nuance.jeremya27-08-2026
- - Wild how quickly this Vuelta flipped into “control mode.” UAE’s train looks ironclad and Pogačar’s TT in Monaco set the tone. Only variable I can see is fatigue before Worlds/Euros, but even then they’ve built margin for error. Chapeau.lindae27-08-2026
- - Qué tragedia. Finlay’s crash still doesn’t feel real. For Josh to even line up at the Vuelta—mucho respeto. Take all the time you need, champ.lindae27-08-2026
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