Pogacar abandons Vuelta after stage-eight crash
On 29 August 2026 race leader Tadej Pogacar abandoned the Vuelta a Espana after crashing during stage eight, suffering a hurt left shoulder and a cut to the left side of his face and walking unaided into an ambulance; it was the first time he has abandoned a Grand Tour.
Pogacar, 27, crashed with about 33km to go while riding in the midst of the peloton, appeared to try to get back on his bike before sitting back down again, and had started the stage three minutes and 50 seconds clear of Spaniard Enric Mas in second place; he had been the overwhelming favourite and was the world champion looking to complete a full set of Grand Tour victories.
The stage itself was chaotic, with another crash in the finishing straight as France's Bryan Coquard claimed his first stage win in a Grand Tour by edging Lidl-Trek rider Mads Pedersen in a photo finish; Coquard (Fra/Cofidis) recorded a time of 3hrs 47mins 6secs. "I think it has been 13 years, it has been a lot of work and I have finished second a lot of times," Coquard told TNT Sports. "I have not been in good positions in the first two sprints, I know I have good legs. Maybe I climb better now, I am fast again."
Enric Mas now leads the general classification with a total time of 23hrs 24mins, with Decathlon CMA CGM rider Felix Gall 1min 11secs adrift; Primoz Roglic is third at +1min 33secs, Sepp Kuss +2mins 15secs, Oscar Onley +2mins 16secs, Richard Carapaz +2mins 22secs, Mattias Skjelmose +3mins 27secs, Harold Tejada +3mins 56secs, Gregor Muhlberger +5mins 39secs and Jakob Omrzel +6mins 4secs.
The report describes Pogacar as a six-time Grand Tour winner who had already won five Tours de France and a Giro d'Italia, and as a UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider who had become the joint most successful Tour de France champion of all time last month; he was aiming to become the ninth rider to win all three Grand Tours. The article also states he has won 13 one-day monument races, including the Tour of Flanders (three times), Milan-San Remo (once), Il Lombardia (five times) and Liege-Bastogne-Liege (four times), and that in 2025 he recorded his best finish of second in Paris-Roubaix.
The piece says Pogacar "was going to win the Vuelta a Espana by a country mile" and that "many observers believed his margin of victory could be more than 10 minutes," adding that Vuelta audiences spiked because of his presence and that "at least six previously well-beaten riders suddenly have a shot at glory."
It is unclear at this stage whether Pogacar will be able to defend his rainbow world champion's jersey, given the Road World Championships take place in Canada next month.