Pogacar was second from last to complete the course through the Principality, which ended on the home straight of the Formula 1 circuit. He took 10 minutes and 57 seconds – exactly the same as Hayter – to complete the route through the Principality at an average speed of 51.5 km/h. Behind the Briton, his two compatriots, Joshua Tarling (Netcompany INEOS) and Callum Thornley (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe), finished four and five seconds behind respectively.

“It’s a strange feeling to win the time trial on Stage 1, and by such a narrow margin. I’m very happy,” said Pogacar, who, as a resident of Monaco, was effectively celebrating a home victory. He also credited his knowledge of the route as the key to his success. “I walk or cycle along there every day. Of course, it’s completely different in a race, but I know these roads very well. That certainly helped me today.”

Behind the leading group, the gaps quickly widened. Switzerland’s Stefan Küng (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) was 14 seconds behind in twelfth place. Lennard Kämna was the best-placed German, finishing 21st, 21 seconds behind Pogacar. However, he still finished ahead of all the general classification contenders. Primož Roglič (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) was the best of the rest, 22 seconds behind. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl – Trek / +22 seconds), Enric Mas (Movistar Team / +33), Richard Carapaz (EF Education – EasyPost / +34), Santiago Buitragi (Bahrain – Victorious / +39), Sepp Kuss (Team Visma | Lease a Bike / +46), Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM / +47) and Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS / +50) all finished behind him.

2026 Vuelta a España – Results of Stage 1

Here’s how the first stage of the 2026 Vuelta a España unfolded

Every minute, 184 riders, led by Diego Uriarte (Equipo Kern Pharma), were sent out onto the course. The Spaniard set an initial time of 11:52 minutes, but this was quickly beaten by his compatriot Markel Beloki (EF Education – EasyPost). Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) and Mathias Norsgaard (Lidl - Trek), however, soon set new fastest times of their own.

Next, it was Jordan Labrosse (Decathlon CMA CGM) who brought the time down to 11:21 minutes, thereby becoming the first to open up a significant gap on his predecessor. The Frenchman held the lead until Sander De Pestel (Decathlon CMA CGM) took over from him. However, before he could take his place in the hot seat, Matthew Brennan (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) had already set a new best time.

The Briton remained in the lead until Arthur Kluckers (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) beat his time by 11 minutes and 8 seconds. This was enough to secure a top-10 finish for the Luxembourger. The 2023 Junior World Champion from Australia, Oscar Chamberlain (Decathlon CMA CGM), was beaten by his team-mate Léo Bisiaux, who was one second faster. But he, too, could not celebrate for long. The British trio of Thornley, Tarling and Hayter each set a new fastest time, before Pogacar proved a fraction faster still. Roglic, as the last rider to start, was unable to alter the order at the top of the leaderboard.