Tadej Pogacar wins Vuelta a Espana opening time trial in Monaco by 0.09 seconds

Monaco street circuit battle

Tadej Pogacar won the opening stage of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana on Saturday, beating Ethan Hayter by nine hundredths of a second in the individual time trial in Monaco. Both riders completed the 9.4-kilometer course in 10 minutes and 57 seconds, but the Slovenian took the stage victory and the first red leader jersey. The route through Monte Carlo included 59 meters of elevation gain and traced parts of the Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit from the Casino ramp to the finish. Pogacar started as the penultimate rider after morning heat cleared away earlier rain showers. The Monaco resident noted that his daily familiarity with the technical corners played a deciding role.

It is a strange feeling to win the time trial by such a small margin. I did not expect it. I definitely think I won those 0.09 seconds when passing in front of my house, because that was the most technical part of the route.

British challenge and Tarling's tribute

Decathlon CMA CGM riders Jordan Labrosse, Sander De Pestel, Oscar Chamberlain, and Leo Bisiaux held the top positions during the opening portion of the stage. Callum Thornley of Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe then improved the benchmark before Joshua Tarling of Netcompany Ineos took the provisional lead with a time of 11:01. Tarling started the stage eight days after his brother Finlay died in an accident during the Volta a Portugal. Hayter, riding for Soudal Quick-Step, soon lowered the time to 10:57 before Pogacar matched the seconds and edged him out on fractions.

When I was heading to the start line, I saw that Josh had the best time. I really wanted him to win today, I was cheering for him. Then I reached the intermediate split and heard a different name: it was Ethan Hayter, who had three seconds on me.

General classification time gaps

The technical circuit created immediate gaps between the overall contenders across less than ten kilometers of racing. Primoz Roglic, who started with race number 1 as a four-time champion, finished 24th, 22 seconds behind Pogacar with race number 11. Carlos Rodriguez took 34th place with a deficit of 27 seconds, while Matthias Skjelmose finished seven seconds behind Roglic. Richard Carapaz finished in 52nd place, 33 seconds down on the stage winner. Ivan Romeo placed 19th in 11:15 as the highest Spanish finisher, while Enric Mas clocked 11:30, Sepp Kuss recorded 11:42, and Felix Gall stopped the clock at 11:43.

The route ahead

The result marked Pogacar's 128th career victory and his 20th win of the 2026 season, coming one month after his fifth Tour de France title. Race director Javier Guillen noted that media accreditations and television coverage increased significantly after Pogacar confirmed his participation on 3 August. The 21-stage race remains in France for the next two days before reaching Andorra on Tuesday. The 2026 route travels through the Mediterranean arc without stages in Cantabria or Madrid, concluding on 13 September in Granada.