Vuelta a España 2026 - Stage 18 (ITT)
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What made the start of Stage 18’s time trial so unique compared to other TT starts?
Welcome back to the Lenten Rouge Cycling Podcast, the recap of stage 18 of the Vuelta a España from El Puerto de Santa María to Jerez de la Frontera, 32 kilometers long. We're starting on the coast in a bullfighting ring. The riders go down a ramp. Crowd in the ring, they go past the taxidermied heads of maybe some famous bull champions in a corridor. So quite a different TT start to the glitz and glamour of Monte Carlo Casino and Palace. We are, yeah, in the dusty south of Spain where bullfighting reigns supreme. This episode is brought to you by Join Cycling. And, well, Van Aert was the favorite for this stage, apparently beforehand. 32 Ks, flat, little kicker at the first time check and second time check, but 100 meters elevation gain.
It's a 52 kilometer an hour, 54 kilometer an hour plus TT, especially as they had a tailwind coming off the coast for most of it. I'm
shocked by that, Wout van Aert being the pre-race favorite. Like, I know that we were off too when we said Ethan Hayter, But I also didn't expect Wout van Aert to end up winning this time trial. But I think we always just jump in, don't we, with these time trials? So the winner of this time trial at the end of the day is... That is the top 10. now before we dive into the gc very shortly about the actual uh stage victory here even haters time is disappointing
yeah it is um because
what we forgot benji was this is a long tt and the hater is an aero specialist and it's harder to hold that position like the 35 minutes compared to cornering well in the Monaco TT and for 10 minutes. So I think either that or he's tired. Riders are also tired. It's about how much tiredness, ability to hold the position. But indeed, he's outside the top five. That's not what we expected. I thought indeed that he would possibly win this TT. His British compatriot is the one that nearly wins. This is close. Callum, three seconds in a 35-minute TT. That's... That's what you had for breakfast that morning. That's a tiny, tiny difference. And that's why, you know, a 0.1% improvement, is that 0.1%? What's 0.1% of 35.22?
35 times 60 plus 22 times 0.01. That's 21 seconds.
My math is correct. So... Yeah,
like small margins, separate GT victories. Koong wins his first Grand Tour victory since he won his first one in the Vuelta itself in the final TT in Madrid two years ago. But he was on Group R FDJ then. He wins the second Grand Tour stage won by Tudor Pro Cycling in the space of a week. So they must think it's easy now, just winning Grand Tour stages for fun. And it's very similar to Tour of Poland, where Brenner won the GC there and then Kuhn won the final TT. So they got two wins in Poland. So big win for Kuhn. He had a big crash. They paid him probably a big contract, a big investment in him, and they've got a return here.
Why were Wout van Aert and Ethan Hayter considered pre‑race favorites and how did they actually perform?
So you're saying that Brenner's going to win the GC?
Could do. He could win another stage. Could win tomorrow,
maybe. But
the pacing... That's it.
About Thornley, though, that's
a
really strong time trial by Callum Thornley. Like, in the last year, we've only seen him do 12-kilometer, 13-kilometer time trials throughout this year. So we didn't have, like, the full spectrum what he could do in a 33-kilometer Vuelta time trial, so to say, because he's growing year by year as a youngster like that. But this is definitely one of those performances where now you can, okay, in a time trial like this, he's not just a podium candidate, which I considered him yesterday, just a podium candidate. He's also a victory candidate. He's literally only three seconds away from the victory. Almeida getting third. I'm happy to see that because he's been struggling with illness, sickness, whatever, lots of issues throughout the entire year.
And to see him bring this performance home, that is a nice result. And maybe a... bring some hope in Portuguese cycling fans that will see the best Almeida again in 2027, which we saw last year. He was one of the best stage racers in the 2025 season, right?
Yeah. So I don't know where that, this is like the weird results. I don't know where that results come from, but it's looking good for him.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What made the start of Stage 18’s time trial so unique compared to other TT starts?
0:00–3:43
2
Why were Wout van Aert and Ethan Hayter considered pre‑race favorites and how did they actually perform?
3:43–6:43
3
How did Callum Thornley’s strong performance reshape his chances for a podium or victory?
6:43–10:22
4
What were the key pacing differences between the fastest and slowest riders on the course?
10:22–13:25
5
How did Enric Mas’s time‑trial result affect his standing in the overall GC battle?
13:25–15:50
6
Which riders are likely to target the upcoming breakaway on Stage 19 and why?
15:50–20:03
7
What tactical options do Movistar and other teams have for controlling the breakaway on the next stage?
20:03–22:11
8
How will the points and KOM competitions influence rider strategies heading into Stage 20?
22:11–24:54