CASTELLO, Spain (AP) — Tadej Pogačar continued his impressive run at the Spanish Vuelta on Thursday, winning the sixth stage after going off track and nearly crashing on a quick descent.
The defending Tour de France champion, seeking a career sweep of Grand Tour titles, was able to slow down just enough to stay on his bike and return to the road to eventually outlast Enric Mas and secure his third stage victory.
“We had a plan, we felt we could let the breakaway go, but it took nearly two hours to form a breakaway, so in the end we had to pull less than half the stage to control," Pogačar said.
The Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates increased his overall lead to 3 minutes, 34 seconds, with Mas of Movistar Team in second place and Primož Roglič dropping to third, more than four minutes behind Pogačar.
Pogačar had already put on a dominant performance to win Tuesday's fourth stage, and he also won the opening stage.
He is trying to become the ninth male rider to win all three Grand Tours races.
Pogačar won the Tour de France for a third straight time and a record-tying fifth overall in July, and he claimed the Giro d’Italia win in 2024. He had not raced in the Vuelta since making his Grand Tour debut at the event in 2019, when he won three stages.
Pogačar is the first rider with three wins in the first six stages since Oscar Freire in 2007.
He dropped the rest of the riders with less than 25 kilometers (15 kilometers) to go but was caught by Mas before the final summit.
“I was really surprised on the top. He flew past me like a rocket,” Pogačar said of Mas. “I was not expecting it because I heard on the radio I was 40 seconds ahead of the chasers and Enric wasn’t mentioned. When he passed me, I was little bit shocked.”
The duo worked together through the end and Pogačar eventually prevailed at the finish line.
“I was sure he knew the downhill and I was happy to be with him for the last 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) with headwind,” Pogačar said. “I had no water. I knew I could beat it in the sprint. I appreciated that he committed fully, and I also committed fully to the line.”
Thursday's sixth-stage featured a mid-mountain route that included a dirt road on the final climb. A quick descent toward the finish line in Castellón challenged riders and nearly proved costly to Pogačar as he nearly lost control of his bike and couldn't stay on the road on a sharp turn.
Friday's seventh stage is a 149.8-kilometer (93-mile) mountain route.
The Vuelta finishes in the southern Spanish city of Granada on Sept. 13.
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Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's red jersey celebrates on the podium after the second stage of the La Vuelta cycling race, with start in Monaco and finish in Manosque, France, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)
