How To Watch The Vuelta a España 2026, Which Will Include Tadej Pogacar

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For weeks, Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogačar has been asked about his intentions for the upcoming Vuelta a España 2026.

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Chatter within the cycling world had everyone expecting to see him on the starting line in Monaco on Aug. 22, but Pogačar either avoided the inquiries or was cryptic in his responses, as something more pressing needed his attention – the 2026 edition of the Tour de France.

With the TDF, and his record-tying fifth win at the storied race, now complete, Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates – XRG have confirmed that he will be making his first appearance at La Vuelta since 2019.

Fans in Canada can watch all of the action, live and on demand, on FloBikes and the FloSports app. The race will begin Aug. 22 and run through Sept. 13.

The Vuelta a España is the third Grand Tour of the cycling season. It first was held in 1935 and has been contested every year since 1955.

This year marks the 81st edition of La Vuelta, but only the second start for Pogačar, who made it the first Grand Tour of his career when he debuted in 2019. 

The following season, his summertime focus turned to the Tour de France, and he has won that race in five of the seven years he has participated (2020, 2021, 2024, 2025, 2026). The other two times, he was the runner-up to Jonas Vingegaard (2022, 2023).


Pogačar is racking up the wins and accolades at record speed, and he now ranks eighth on the all-time Grand Tour wins list with six (five TDF wins and a Giro d'Italia victory in 2024).

A win at La Vuelta this year would move him into a five-way tie for fourth on the list, and he would become the ninth rider in history to win all three Grand Tours in his career. Vingegaard recently joined that elite club when he won the 2025 Giro d'Italia in May.

Vingegaard also is the reigning champion at La Vuelta, but whether or not he'll be there to defend his title is uncertain. 

The 29-year-old Danish star crashed out of the Tour de France 2026, suffering a surgery-requiring broken collarbone during Stage 15 on July 19.

Even without another Pogačar-Vingegaard showdown, La Vuelta will be stacked with talent and contenders for the race's coveted red leader's jersey.

Among the favorites to find success at Vuelta a España 2026, in the General Classification or in the exciting daily battles, will be four-time champion Primoz Roglic, last year's runner-up João Almeida, Felix Gall, Mattias Skjelmose, Mads Pedersen, Enric Mas, Luke Plapp, Wout van Aert, Mikel Landa – with more being added as the race approaches. 

In 2019, his only other appearance at the Vuelta a España, Pogačar won three stages of the 21-stage event and took the jersey for the best young rider. 

Those were the first Grand Tour victories of his career. He now also owns 26 stage wins at the Tour de France and six at the Giro d'Italia in his lone appearance in 2024, the year he became the first rider since 1998 to win the Giro-TDF double. 

Pogačar's Stage 4 win at the Tour de France 2025 was the 100th professional victory of his career, and 2026 has been another wildly successful campaign.

Can the 27-year-old sensation keep that momentum going in his return to La Vuelta, which will start in his current home base of Monaco?

Actually, the first two stages will take place in Monaco, before the action shifts to the mainland of Spain for another 19 days of action.

The race will open with a technical 9-kilometer individual time trial through the city.

The opportunity makes Monaco the first city to host the start of the first stage in all three cycling Grand Tours.

The 21 days of racing at this year's La Vuelta will cover 3,275 kilometers and include six mountain stages, four hilly days, four medium mountain stages, four flat rides, two individual time trials and one hilly, uphill finale. 

How To Watch The Vuelta A España 2026

For Canadian viewers, the will be streaming on FloBikes and the FloSports app.

To see the start and estimated finish times for each stage, click here.

Highlights, race replays and breaking news will be available on both platforms.

Stage highlights, replays and more breaking news, including recaps and rider interviews, will be on both platforms. 

In the United States, the Vuelta a España is scheduled to be broadcast on the NBC Networks and streaming on the NBC Peacock app. 

Vuelta a España 2026 Schedule 

  • Stage 1 – Aug. 22: Monaco to Monaco (9km ITT)
  • Stage 2 – Aug. 23: Monaco to Manosque (215.2km)
  • Stage 3 – Aug. 24: Gruissan - Aude to Font Romeu (166.7km)
  • Stage 4 – Aug. 25: Andorra la Vella to Andorra la Vella (104.9km)
  • Stage 5 – Aug. 26: Falset - Costa Daurada to Roquetes - Terres de l'Ebre (171.1km)
  • Stage 6 – Aug. 27: Alcossebre to Castelló (176.8km)
  • Stage 7 – Aug. 28: Vall d'Alba to Aramón Valdelinares (149.9km) Stage 8 – Aug. 29: Puçol to Xeraco (176.4km)
  • Stage 9 – Aug. 30: La Vila Joiosa/Villajoyosa to Alto de Aitana - Costa Blanca (187.5km)
  • Rest Day – Aug. 31
  • Stage 10 – Sept. 1: Alcaraz to Elche de la Sierra (184.5km)
  • Stage 11 – Sept. 2: Cartagena to Lorca (156.1km)
  • Stage 12 – Sept. 3: Vera to Calar Alto (166.5km)
  • Stage 13 – Sept. 4: Almuñécar to Loja (193.2km)
  • Stage 14 – Sept. 5: Jaén to Sierra de La Pandera (152.7km)
  • Stage 15 – Sept. 6: Palma del Río to Córdoba (181.2km)
  • Rest Day – Sept. 7
  • Stage 16 – Sept. 8: Cortegana to La Rábida - Palos de la Frontera (186km)
  • Stage 17 – Sept. 9: Dos Hermanas to Sevilla (189.2km)
  • Stage 18 – Sept. 10: El Puerto de Santa María to Jerez de la Frontera (32.5km ITT)
  • Stage 19 – Sept. 11: Vélez-Málaga to Peñas Blancas - Estepona (205.1km)
  • Stage 20 – Sept. 12: La Calahorra to Collado del Alguacil (187km)
  • Stage 21 – Sept. 13: Carrefour Granada to Granada (99.4km)

Total kilometers for 2026 is 3,275 kilometers or approximately 2,035 miles.

When Does The Vuelta a España 2026 Start?

The Vuelta a España 2026 starts Aug. 22 and will conclude Sept. 13. 

The schedule includes 21 stages and two rest days (Aug. 31 and Sept. 7).

Every day, the cyclists start together. Every stage varies in distance and physical demand, and the characteristics of each stage determine what type of rider should excel or how the race should finish. 

For example, some stages feature flat finishes, and that means the sprinters likely will be battling for those stage wins.

How Long Is The Vuelta a España 2026?

The course for the Vuelta a España 2026 will be 3,275 kilometers, or approximately 2,035 miles.

How Many Teams/Riders Compete In The Vuelta a España?

Traditionally, there are 22 or 23 teams of eight riders and up to 184 total competitors in the Vuelta A España.

The 2026 race will feature 23 teams:

  • Alpecin - Premier Tech (WT)
  • Bahrain - Victorious (WT)
  • Burgos Burpellet BH (PRT)
  • Cofidis (PRT)
  • Decathlon CMA CGM Team (WT)
  • EF Education - EasyPost (WT)
  • Equipo Kern Pharma (PRT)
  • Groupama - FDJ United (WT)
  • Lidl - Trek (WT)
  • Lotto Intermarché (WT)
  • Movistar Team (WT)
  • Netcompany INEOS (WT)
  • NSN Cycling Team (WT)
  • Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team (PRT)
  • Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe (WT
  • Soudal Quick-Step (WT)
  • Team Jayco AlUla (WT)
  • Team Picnic PostNL (WT)
  • Team Visma | Lease a Bike (WT)
  • Tudor Pro Cycling Team (PRT)
  • UAE Team Emirates - XRG (WT)
  • Uno-X Mobility (WT)
  • XDS Astana Team (WT)

Who Won The Vuelta a España In 2025?

As it turned out, yes, Jonas Vingegaard was the man to beat at the Vuelta a España in 2025.

He won three stages on the way to his first GC title at La Vuelta, which was affected in multiple stages by pro-Palestinian protests. He finished the 21 days of racing 1 minute, 16 seconds ahead of João Almeida, who won two stages of his own. 

Despite continued success during his career, Vingegaard also has suffered some pretty serious injuries, including a high-speed crash in the Tour of the Basque Country in 2024 that resulted in a broken collarbone, broken ribs and a punctured lung.

He's now recovering from a crash and broken collarbone during the 2026 Tour de France that likely will see him miss the chance to defend his title at the Vuelta a España.

After winning La Vuelta last summer, Vingegaard was able to continue his strong form at the 2025 Giro d'Italia, where he won the GC crown and became the eighth rider in history to win all three Grand Tours at least once.

At the Vuelta a España in 2024, Slovenia's Primoz Roglic won for a record-equaling fourth career victory at the storied race.

The former ski jumper has been plagued by crashes and injuries, including two significant ones in 2024, but he continues to persevere and managed to land himself among the year's most memorable moments with wins at the 2024 Critérium du Dauphiné and La Vuelta.

He won the Vuelta a España in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and joined Spain's Roberto Heras as the event's only four-time champions (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005).

Tadej Pogacar Completes Historic Fifth Win In Tour de France 2026

Mathieu van der Poel won Stage 21 of the 2026 Tour de France in Paris after an aggressive attack with Tadej Pogacar over Montmartre. 

Van der Poel finished it off on the Champs-Élysées in a thrilling final stage. 

In this on-site report, we recap Pogacar's record fifth Tour de France victory and what it took to win across 21 stages from Barcelona to Paris. It was a dramatic end to a historic Tour.


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