Week 2 of the Vuelta a España 2026: Drama, Irish Attacks and Open Racing.
by Dillon Corkery, Team Picnic-PostNL
Week 2 of the Vuelta a España 2026 delivered plenty of drama, with the entire complexion of the race changing almost overnight as it so often can in a Grand Tour. The biggest moment came on Stage 8 when Tadej Pogačar crashed heavily and was forced to abandon while wearing the leader’s jersey.
His departure completely opened up the battle for the overall classification, with Enric Mas taking over the red jersey. Pogačar has since undergone surgery on his collarbone and his 2026 season is unfortunately over. That also leaves big question marks over who may win the 2026 World Championships later this year in Canada.
Stage 9: A Proper Mountain Test
The following day brought one of the hardest stages of the race so far, with more than 5,000 metres of climbing to the summit finish at Alto de Aitana, a famous climb for any riders who train in Calpe.
It’s a super climb, one I know very well, and a really nice one to race on. Mas showed he wasn’t simply going to defend the red jersey. He attacked late and took an impressive stage victory that I would say surprised a lot of people, opening up his position on GC in the process.
Tough News for Picnic-PostNL
After the rest day, unfortunately for our side of things at Picnic-PostNL, it saw Henri François Renard-Haquin leave the race. He had crashed on Stage 6 and managed two extra days on the bike, including one of the hardest days, but scans revealed two broken vertebrae. He’s out of the race.
I want to wish him the best of luck in his recovery. It’ll be a pretty long process.
Stage 10: Eddie on the Attack
Stage 10 was unpredictable and quite open. Sébastien Tranchant took a surprise victory while our own Eddie Dunbar was once again willing to put himself into action.
Eddie attacked from the peloton with around 29 km remaining and continued what has been a very aggressive Vuelta for my fellow Banteer man so far. It’s great to see.
He’s been up the road several times across the race and, although a big result hasn’t quite come yet, he’s certainly not going to be afraid to have a go again in the final week.
Stage 12: Mas Extends His Lead
The mountains returned in force on Stage 12 where 20-year-old Jakob Omrzel produced a super ride to take his first Grand Tour stage win.
Behind him, Mas again showed his strength, putting another 27 seconds into Roglič and Gall and further extending his lead in the red jersey.
Stage 13: Van Aert Strikes
Wout van Aert, one of the champs of the sport, then took his first victory of this year’s Vuelta on Stage 13.
He attacked from the breakaway when an oppressive pace in the peloton behind him gave him a run into the finish.
Stage 14: Darren Rafferty’s Huge Effort
And another huge day for Darren Rafferty and for all Irish fans. Even if Darren’s ride on Stage 14 didn’t give him the result he would have been looking for, it was definitely one of the highlights of the week for Irish supporters.
He spent 118kms in the break on another seriously difficult day in the mountains. But perhaps the most impressive part came after his own chances from the break were finished. Rather than simply riding to the finish, Darren immediately went back to work for his EF Education-EasyPost leader Richie Carapaz.
After spending so long up the road he was still there helping Carapaz towards the end on the final kilometres of the climb, even seen pouring water over his team leader’s neck to cool him down as he emptied himself for the team.
Looking Ahead to Week 3
Overall it has been a massive shake-up in this year’s Vuelta across Week 2. It leaves what I would say is a very much open book heading into the final week.
Plenty still to race for, and with both Eddie and Darren continuing to show the fight and aggression we’ve come to expect, Irish fans have every reason to keep a close eye on the road in the days ahead.
Condolences
Sad news this week with the passing of an Irish cycling legend, and 4-time Rás Tailteann winner, Sé O’Hanlon. My condolences to his family and friends. May he rest in peace.
