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Monday August 24, 2026

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A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. - Charles Spurgeon


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Vuelta a España stage two reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from stage winner Matthew Brennan's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Matthew Brennan won the second stage of the Vuelta a España in impressive fashion. The 21-year-old Brit was the strongest rider in the uphill bunch sprint, capping an outstanding team performance with his first stage victory in a Grand Tour. In the general classification, Wout van Aert and Brennan occupy second and third place respectively, behind Tadej Pogačar.

"I’m incredibly happy with this win. The team did an amazing job throughout the entire day, and I can’t thank them enough", Brennan said after the finish. "Our plan was to get Wout into the red jersey today. He saw a good opportunity to attack in the finale and was confident it could work. The plan was for me to stay in the background and go for the sprint if everything came back together. That’s exactly what happened."

Matthew Brennan wins stage two.

The longest stage of the Spanish stage race featured plenty of climbing. Team Visma | Lease a Bike took control of the race early on and helped ensure the breakaway was never given much room. With two kilometers to go, Van Aert launched a blistering attack that only Pogačar could respond to. The pair opened up a small gap but were unable to hold their advantage.

Christophe Laporte guided Brennan into position in the closing meters, and the young Brit powered to victory in dominant fashion. He secured Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s 40th win of the season. "When the responsibility fell on my shoulders, I wasn’t quite sure what to do for a moment. Fortunately, Christophe guided me through all the chaos. I’m really happy that I was able to finish it off and start my first Grand Tour in this way."

Here's the Vuelta report from GC leader Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates:

On stage 2 of the Vuelta a España, Tadej Pogačar took third place for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with the result enough to see the stage 1 winner retain the red leader’s jersey.

The Slovenian, by now well known for competing on all terrains, mixed it with the fast men in an uphill sprint to the line in Manosque. Matthew Brennan of Visma-Lease a Bike landed the day’s honours, with Pogačar not far behind in third.

Just a couple of kilometres earlier, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man had followed a stinging attack from Brennan’s teammate, Wout van Aert. As the Belgian surged forward in an attempt to wrestle hold of Pogačar’s Red Jersey, the 27-year-old responded and powered clear of the peloton.

Tadej Pogacar starting his winning stage one ride.

It was primarily Lidl-Trek that made the effort to close the gap to the leading trio (Alessandro Romele of XDS Astana Team had added his name to the mix), before the peloton contested an uphill sprint to determine the day’s winner.

Brennan went long for Visma-Lease a Bike and was rewarded, as the stage 1 winner Pogačar gave his all to the line.

Pogačar retains his lead of the race heading into Monday’s stage 3, with the Slovenian animating the race right from the first moments in Monaco. His eyes will remain focused on the general classification, but the world champion has long since shown his appetite for winning stages along the way.

Pogačar: “It was to be expected [for Van Aert] to attack, but I was a little bit too late to react, and he opened a good gap. Over the top, on the flat part, I still had to push. He was looking around, and I finally caught him. I should have committed if we had a chance to win, but I also knew that he had Matthew Brennan in the back. I tried to stay in his wheel and hope he would commit to the finish line, but also I had a lot of lactate in the legs. I was just happy to take third place in the end.

“It was all in for the stage win, and I just tried to be there and follow the hard moves.”

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Here's the Vuelta report from stage two second-place Paul Miquel's Team Bahrain Victorious:

Pau Miquel sprinted to second place on stage two of La Vuelta a España, taking Bahrain Victorious’ first podium of the race in Manosque.

Following Saturday’s opening time trial in Monaco, the first road stage covered 214.3 kilometres from Monaco to Manosque. Bahrain Victorious stayed well positioned throughout the day, keeping its riders protected and conserving energy ahead of a finale that suited Miquel.

The race came to life in the final two kilometres when Wout van Aert attacked on the uphill approach to Manosque, with race leader Tadej Pogacar following. The pair were caught approaching the final kilometre as the reduced group prepared for the sprint.

Matevž Govekar helped position Miquel through the closing kilometres before the Spaniard produced a strong sprint to take second behind Matthew Brennan (Team Visma – Lease a Bike), with Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) completing the podium.

Paul Miquel finishes just ahead of red-clad Tadej Pogacar. Photo: Rafa Gomez/Sprint Cycling Agency

Pau Miquel:
“To be honest, I’m happy with this second place, although not completely satisfied because we came here looking for a stage victory. But I think we made the most of our first opportunity; only Brennan was stronger today, so we’ll keep trying.

"The team did a great job, really a 10 out of 10. They put me in a perfect position for the finale, so I’m happy with my sensations and I think the work was done very well. There are still many opportunities ahead, so we have to try to take every one of them.”

Sports Director Franco Pellizotti:
“After yesterday’s time trial, this was the first important stage for us and, in my opinion, the riders did a good job. They stayed in a good and safe position all day without wasting energy unnecessarily. In the final, Matevž tried to help Pau in the last kilometres because Pau was our leader for the stage and we knew it would be a hard finale.

"In the end, I’m happy with the result. Second place, ahead of Pogačar and Pedersen, and behind Brennan, who is a very strong rider, especially at the moment and in this type of sprint. At the same time, I know how important it is for Pau to win a race, and of course doing it here at La Vuelta, in Spain, would be special for him. We have started in a good way, the race is long, and with this form I think the victory is very close.”

Here's the Vuelta report from fifth-place Hugo Hofstetter's NSN Cycling Team:

After tackling almost 3000 meters of elevation, Hugo Hofstetter showed strong legs on stage 2 of the Vuelta a España, digging deep in the tough, technical finale to sprint to fifth place in Manosque.

There was no panic from the Frenchman, who stayed glued to race leader Tadej Pogačar’s wheel in the final few hundred meters, with Hofstetter eventually settling for fifth on the day while the win went to Matthew Brennan (Visma – Lease A Bike).

Hofstetter credited his teammates for their work to set him up, keeping him in position at the front of the strung out peloton, as attacks flew in the closing kilometers.

Stage two gets started in Monaco

“My legs were really good in the final,” explains Hoftsetter. “I was really happy with that, because it was a really hard final, especially in the last three kilometers. The team did a great job to protect me. Floris [Van Tricht] was there at the points that we said in the meeting so I could save a lot of energy on these two kickers where Pogačar and Van Aert attacked.

“So I am really happy with fifth position. It’s a good result for me on this hard finish, and it also gives me confidence after my sickness in Poland.”


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The Story of the Giro d’Italia, vol.1 Shade Vise sunglass holder Paris-Roubaix: The Inside Store

Here’s the Vuelta report from Ethan Hayter’s Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Manosque played host to a Grand Tour stage finish for the first time in decades. Half a century after Jose Luis Viejo took a memorable solo victory from the breakaway at the Tour de France, the Provençal city returned, this time at the end of the longest stage of this year’s Vuelta a España.

Ethan Hayter rode admirably on the roads of southern France, attacking moments from the start and joining a three-man breakaway that at that point had one minute on the peloton. As soon as he made it there, Ethan took the front of the group and showed his massive engine by taking some long pulls that helped the quartet establish a three-minute lead over the bunch.

Ethan Hayter time trialing to second-place in stage one.

His goal was clear: stay at the front until the intermediate sprint that came in the closing 40 kilometers of the stage and obtain precious bonifications that could have helped him don the prestigious red jersey at the end of the day. Around 50 kilometers from the sprint, the bunch increased the tempo and erased a good chunk of the deficit, to the point that only 20 seconds were still separating them. Sensing the danger, Ethan made a bold move, attacking the other men in the breakaway and going solo on the up-and-down terrain, managing to increase his lead and score six bonus seconds that made him the virtual leader of the race.

Minutes later, the bunch caught him, but the 27-year-old remained there until the complicated uphill finish in Manosque, where he couldn’t follow when the first attacks came due to things becoming chaotic in the bunch. Hayter concluded almost half a minute down on winner Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike), but the points he took during the stage meant that on Monday he’ll wear the green jersey again.

“I was very motivated to try something today. That’s why I attacked early and put in that effort until they eventually reeled me in. The finale was very difficult. I would have loved to take the red jersey even for one day, but it was really complicated. They went full gas at the front of the peloton, while I wasn’t in an ideal position and got blocked when the others stopped. I tried and did my best there, but in the end, it is as it is”, an upbeat Ethan said at the finish, before being awarded the most combative rider of the day prize.

And here's the Vuelta report from the Netcompany INEOS Cycling team:

Axel Laurance and Oscar Onley sprinted to a pair of top-10 finishes following a long and hard-fought second stage of La Vuelta a Espana.

The Netcompany INEOS duo crossed the line eighth and ninth respectively in Manosque after an exciting uphill sprint.

Throughout the lengthy 202.1-kilometre test the team were well positioned at the head of the race, hitting the front when required as the peloton worked to control the day's break.

A regrouping with 34km to go temporarily took the pace out of the race, but the action dialled back up on the run-in.

Oscar Onley at the teams presentation ceremony before the Vuelta started. Sirotti photo.

Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike) sprinted to claim the victory ahead of Pau Miquel (Bahrain Victorious) and race leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).

In this early phase of the race, Laurance, Carlos Rodriguez and Oscar Onley all enjoyed big jumps up the General Classification after finishing in the lead group.


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Renewi Tour stage five team reports

We posted the stage five report from 4th-place Filippo Fiorelli's Team Visma | Lease a Bike with the results.

Here's the report from GC second-place Jenno Berckmoes' Team Lotto-Intermarché:

Lotto-Intermarché concludes the Renewi Tour with second place in the general classification. For Jenno Berckmoes, it is the reward for a strong week in which he also won Friday’s queen stage in Geraardsbergen. “Just 34 days after breaking my collarbone at the Tour de France, I’m able to win a stage here and finish second overall. I can only be happy with that,” says Berckmoes. With Lionel Taminiaux winning the Super 8 combativity classification, Lotto-Intermarché had a second rider on the final podium in Leuven.

Lotto-Intermarché looks back on a successful Renewi Tour. Jenno Berckmoes started today’s final stage in Leuven in second place in the general classification and successfully defended that position. After an exciting battle, he finishes the five-day stage race as runner-up to sprinter Jasper Philipsen.

“I think we gave everything we had with the resources available to us,” says Berckmoes. “Unfortunately, Taco Van der Hoorn and Huub Artz both had to abandon earlier this week after crashes, each with a fracture in the hand, while Arnaud De Lie was unable to start this morning because of illness. We were a bit depleted as a team, which made it difficult to really make the race hard. I tried everything I could, with one final attempt on the Wijnpers. When you’re only four seconds away from the overall lead, you simply have to try. I squeezed out everything I had, but Jasper Philipsen was strong enough to follow. He’s having an incredibly strong season, and this is already the second time this year that I’ve finished runner-up to him in a general classification.”

Jenno Berckmoes wins stage three.

Nevertheless, Berckmoes leaves the Renewi Tour with plenty of reasons to be satisfied. His week was highlighted by an impressive victory in Friday’s queen stage in Geraardsbergen. “I broke my collarbone during the Tour de France. Two hours later, I told the sports directors that I wanted to race the Renewi Tour. I was determined to be here. Just 34 days later, I’m able to win a stage and finish second in the general classification. You can’t be anything but happy with that. That victory in Geraardsbergen was the icing on the cake. The fact that I could shape the finale there together with Alec Segaert, my former teammate and a good friend, and then finish it off with the victory made it even more special.”

Lionel Taminiaux also stepped onto the final podium in Leuven. After an attacking week of racing, the Belgian secured the Super 8 combativity classification, giving Lotto-Intermarché another reason to celebrate at the end of a successful Renewi Tour.

And here's the Renewi Tour report from stage five third-place Mike Teunissen's XDS Astana Team:

XDS Astana Team rider Mike Teunissen finished third in the sprint on the final stage of the UCI WorldTour Renewi Tour, securing fourth place in the final General Classification. For Teunissen, this is the best GC result of his career in a WorldTour stage race, while for XDS Astana Team it is the team's best result at the Renewi Tour since 2014.

Jasper Philipsen wins the stage five sprint.

“I think we can be happy with the result we achieved at the Renewi Tour this week. For me, this is the best overall result of my career in a WorldTour stage race, so it’s a very good result. I felt good coming into the race, but unfortunately, I got a little bit sick during the week. However, the team did everything possible to support me, and in the end ,we achieved a strong result in the General Classification. Thanks to all the guys for their support. Second place in Hamburg and fourth place today are very encouraging results, and they show that everything is going in the right direction. They also show that my decision to stay with the team for another two years is the right one, both for me and for the team. I feel that I still have the strength, desire and motivation to continue fighting at the highest level, so we keep working”, – said Mike Teunissen.