Pogacar wins his third Vuelta stage in Castellón

Tadej Pogacar has taken his third stage win of the 2026 Vuelta, beating Enric Mas in a sprint in Castellón on Thursday. The Slovenian rider won stage six after 177.5 kilometres from Alcossebre. Mas missed out on the stage but moved up to second overall after gaining 46 seconds on his podium rivals.

A 16-man breakaway went clear after the day’s first two climbs, including Wout van Aert, Pello Bilbao, Santiago Buitrago, Carlos Canal, José Manuel Díaz Gallego and Urko Berrade. UAE Team Emirates XRG and Movistar Team kept the gap in check behind them. The escape group was more than two and a half minutes ahead at one point, but had only about a minute left before the final first-category climb of El Bartolo.

Mas catches Pogacar on gravel

Pogacar lifted the pace on El Bartolo and reached the leaders. Mas then attacked alone on the gravel section, known in cycling as sterrato, as he chased the red jersey.

The Spaniard caught Pogacar and crossed the summit first. Both had scares on the technical descent: Mas braked too late for one corner, while Pogacar ran wide in another and had to put a foot down.

Primoz Roglic, Felix Gall and Ramses Debruyne closed to within 15 seconds of the leading pair. But once the road flattened out, the stage became a straight fight between Pogacar and Mas, with Pogacar pulling clear in the Castellón sprint.

Mas takes second place overall

Mas took 46 seconds, plus four bonus seconds, from Roglic, Gall and Richard Carapaz. He is now second in the overall standings, 47 seconds ahead of Roglic and one minute 16 seconds clear of fourth-placed Carapaz.

Friday’s stage runs 149.8 kilometres from Vall d'Alba to Aramón Valdelinares. The route includes five classified climbs, with the finish climb to Aramón Valdelinares rated first category.

Topics: Sport

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com