00:01Tadej Pogacar underlined his billing as the overwhelming favourite to win this Vuelta
00:05yesterday, dominating in Andorra, and now leads the race by more than three minutes.
00:11Today the GC takes a back seat on a stage for the sprinters and punchers, some of whom
00:16have already won in Tarragona.
00:18Who was the last stage winner of La Vuelta in this province?
00:22I don't know.
00:23Yourself?
00:23You want to do it again?
00:25Yeah, of course. I expect a hard stage today though. I mean, it's quite a grippy little
00:30final there with the back-to-back climbs. But yeah, I mean, we make a good chance for sure
00:35and we just need to get through first the wind and then the climbs to the finish.
00:39Matthew Brennan has also won here on Vuelta Catalunya and sprinted to victory on stage two.
00:45Could Visma attempt another two-pronged attack with him and Juan Bernat?
00:49Maybe the finish shoots that a little bit less, but yeah, there's still a steep final kind
00:54of climb with 20Ks to go, let's say. So yeah, there is a possibility he could jump on something
01:01that could be quite dangerous, you know, if Pedersen attacks or something like this.
01:05And it could be quite exciting, but I think for the moment, you know, we would really like
01:10to kind of aim for the sprint today. I think it's a really good opportunity for us as a team.
01:15And yeah, we'll see what we can do.
01:18Another man who surprised a few people in Manosk was Paul Mikel, second ahead of Pogacar and
01:23Mads Pedersen, the Catalan hoping to shine on home suit.
01:27We're back on familiar ground today in Catalonia, where I was born, so let's enjoy it.
01:33A pure sprint against riders like Brennan, Mads and Juan Bernat is going to be tough for somebody of my
01:38weight.
01:39But I think that today is a good opportunity if it's hard before the finish.
01:43We'll try to fight for the win.
01:47A stage like this looks ideal for Pedersen, with lumps and bumps in the final.
01:51But the Dain says that he's going to be on domestique duty for his GC leader, Matthias Skjelmoser.
01:58I'm here to support Skjelmoser today, so yeah, I just want him to make it safe through and without losing
02:05time in any crosswind.
02:06So the priority is GC, not the stage?
02:09Definitely, yes.
02:12173km on the menu with one categorised climb, which tops out with 25km to go.
02:17It's 3.5km at over 7%, so it's sure to thin out the bunch before a potential sprint.
02:30There was another fast-paced start, around 45km an hour for the first two hours of racing.
02:35Four riders went up the road, including the former amateur world champion Mattia Gafuri, who's riding his first Grand Tour.
02:42The Italian was joined by Diego Uriate, Walter Calzone and Frederic de Varshanes, a stage winner at the Giro earlier
02:49this year.
02:50They had a maximum gap of around two minutes, but their day out at the front would be short-lived
02:55because the pace was high in the bunch.
02:57A lot of teams nervous about crosswinds. Pedersen, as promised, up at the front, trying to guide Skjelmoser through the
03:04chaos.
03:06While splits appearing in the peloton as the breakaway was caught, the Teres de Libre region living up to its
03:13reputation.
03:18But all of the main GC riders and sprinters were apparently well positioned because the urgency soon went out of
03:24the front group and things settled down.
03:27Visma Lisa Bike now assuming the pacing duties in their bid to win another stage with Brennan or perhaps Van
03:33Aerts.
03:35Well, next up was the intermediate sprint, just under 60km from the finish, but Ethan Hayter decided to anticipate heading
03:41off solo and the peloton were happy to let him go.
03:45The British rider set to pocket another 20 points before the road began to rise.
03:50Do you want to continue with intermediate sprints and sprints?
03:57It's not really a plan, but while I'm wearing the jersey, if the opportunity is there, I'll take it, yeah.
04:06Ethan Hayter crosses the line here in Tivenis. He takes the 20 points and the six bonus seconds.
04:15The bunch catching Hayter and gradually approaching the Puerto de Palos, which would be a real test for the sprinters.
04:22But before they got there, Andreas Krohn attacked.
04:25Ledein has taken two of his four career wins in Catalunya, most recently stage two of La Vuelta in 2023
04:31into Barcelona.
04:33This was a big ask though, and despite carving out a lead of nearly 40 seconds, he was caught at
04:39the foot of the climb.
04:44UAE taking control on a fairly narrow road.
04:48The pace remaining high, and it proved too much for sprinters like Caden Groves, who is still chasing his first
04:54win of 2026.
04:56Pedersen also fading, perhaps paying for his huge efforts in the final week of the Tour de France.
05:02The peloton shipping a lot of riders, and they only had 25km or so to try to catch up.
05:13The front group coming over the summit with the top three from stage two all in there, Brennan, Mikel and
05:19Pogaccia.
05:20And Visma Lisebike were clearly working for their young British star.
05:25Xavier Mikel Asparan trying to get away for Pinarello Q36.5, but Van Aert was on hand to close the
05:32gap.
05:33At this point it was clear that the riders who had been dropped on the climb wouldn't be getting back
05:37to the fronts.
05:41Asparan trying his luck again on the run into Roquetes, but Visma Lisebike weren't having a bit of it as
05:47they prepared to launch Brennan.
05:50Van Aert and Christophe Laporte putting him into the box seat before the final right-hander.
05:57A tailwind finish now. Now he makes that acceleration. Brennan is there like a rocket.
06:03Can he try and make it back-to-back stage victories? And two stage victories in this Grand Tour.
06:08Meuse is going, he's trying to accelerate, but Matty Brennan, it's another masterclass. A rocket in Roquetes.
06:27Matthew Brennan doubling up after another brilliant team performance from Visma Lisebike.
06:32The 21-year-old from Darlow is fast becoming the darling of this welter.
06:37Two stage wins in his maiden Grand Tour thanks to help from some of the best in the business.
06:43Warren Christophe, probably some of the, in fact the best guys you can have in the world for this type
06:49of thing.
06:50And they were supporting me all the way into the final. Last corner I lost my wheel a bit.
06:55The paint was a little bit slippery, but thankfully I stayed safe and managed it really well.
07:02Glad we could finish with the arms in the air.
07:05Brennan taking his ninth win of the campaign ahead of Jordi Murs and Vincenzo Albanese
07:10with Alessandro Rumele and Axel Laurence completing the top five.
07:17Pogaccia didn't get involved in the sprint today, finishing comfortably in the bunch.
07:21He remains three minutes and 21 seconds clear of Primoz Roglic overall.
07:29The Slovenian also remains in green, but his British rivals have closed the gap.
07:33Brennan now 22 points back in second place with Hayter three points further back in third.
07:39No change at the top of the mountains classification.
07:43It's still Pogaccia who holds polka dots by 13 points from Lorenzo Fortunato.
07:52And Oscar only remains the race's best young rider by 21 seconds from Bjarna Widar.
07:58Tomorrow's medium mountain stage could give us the first breakaway win of this Vuelta.
08:03Join us for that on Thursday and thanks for watching.
