Tadej Pogacar is widely expected to win the Vuelta a España, which commences on Saturday, 21 August 2026, in Monaco. This will be his first appearance in the Spanish race since 2019, and he is the favourite to finish on the podium in Granada on 13 September.
If the 27-year-old Slovenian secures the Vuelta title, it will be his seventh Grand Tour victory. This achievement would also place him among an elite group as the ninth rider to have won all three of Europe’s major stage races, joining figures such as Eddy Merckx and Chris Froome.
Pogacar, who won last month's Tour de France, is anticipated to replicate his dominant performance in this final three-week race of the season. He hopes to become the first rider since Chris Froome in 2017 to achieve the Tour-Vuelta double.
The absence of rival Jonas Vingegaard, who is recovering from a collarbone fracture, and Tour runner-up Remco Evenepoel, is expected to further enhance Pogacar’s prospects. Danish rider Mattias Skjelmose stated that Vingegaard has expressed discouragement over Pogacar's dominance.
The Netcompany Ineos team will return to Grand Tour racing, led by Scotland's Oscar Onley. Onley, who finished fourth in the 2025 Tour de France, missed this year's race due to injury but recently won the Tour of Burgos.