MADRID, 27th August, 2026 (WAM) -- Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar, riding for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, strengthened his lead in the general classification of the 2026 Vuelta a España after winning Stage 6 on Thursday, claiming his third victory of this year’s race.
Pogacar completed the stage in 4 hours, 12 minutes and 40 seconds, edging Spain’s Enric Mas of Movistar Team in the closing metres. Mas finished with the same time, while Belgium’s Ramses Debruyne of Alpecin-Premier Tech took third, 46 seconds behind.
The world champion took his tally to 22 victories this season and extended his overall lead to 3 minutes and 34 seconds over Mas, with Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic, of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, third at 4 minutes and 21 seconds.
The stage took a dramatic turn when Mas managed to catch Pogacar just before the summit, with the pair opening a gap over the rest of their rivals. The official race account says they began the descent with a 30-second, rather than 34-second, advantage over Roglic, Felix Gall and Debruyne.
Pogacar said after the victory that the team had initially planned to allow a breakaway to go clear, but it took nearly two hours for one to form, forcing UAE Team Emirates-XRG to work to control the race for the latter part of the stage.
He praised the efforts of his teammates, particularly Joao Almeida, Kevin Vermaerke, Jay Vine and Pablo Torres, saying their work put him in the ideal position to launch his attack.
Pogacar added that Mas’ appearance alongside him at the summit came as a surprise, saying he had heard over the team radio that he was around 40 seconds ahead of the chasers before discovering that Mas had managed to bridge the gap.