The Tour de France may be over, but one of the biggest stories of the 2026 cycling season is just getting started.
The Vuelta a España begins Aug. 22 and runs through Sept. 13, with 21 stages covering 3,275 kilometers. For Canadian cycling fans, this year's race brings a combination of cycling history, Canadian interest and a direct lead-in to the UCI Road World Championships in Montréal.
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- Vuelta a España 2026 To Start In Monaco And Finish In Granada
- Tadej Pogačar To Race The Vuelta a España 2026
- Who Won Stage 21 Of The Tour de France 2026? See The Full TDF Results Here
Here are five reasons to watch.
Tadej Pogačar Can Make Grand Tour History
Pogačar has won just about everything there is to win in cycling, but one major prize remains missing: the Vuelta.
The five-time Tour de France champion has never won Spain's Grand Tour. In fact, he hasn't raced the Vuelta since making his Grand Tour debut there in 2019.
A victory in 2026 would make Pogačar only the ninth rider to win all three Grand Tours — the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España.
And he isn't the only rider chasing history.
Four-time champion Primož Roglič enters tied with Roberto Heras for the most Vuelta victories. A fifth would give Roglič the record outright.
Canada Has Hugo Houle To Root For
Canadian fans have one of their own in the peloton.
Quebec's Hugo Houle is on the Vuelta start list with Alpecin-Premier Tech. The 2022 Tour de France stage winner also has been selected for Canada's elite men's road race team at the World Championships in Montréal.
Canada already has some history at the Vuelta, too. Ottawa's Michael Woods is a three-time Vuelta stage winner.
The Vuelta Route Is Built For Action
The 2026 Vuelta includes six mountain stages, four medium-mountain stages, four hilly stages and two individual time trials.
The race begins with a 9.4-kilometer time trial in Monaco before moving through France and Andorra and eventually into Spain. The three-week race finishes in Granada.
One stage to circle is Stage 9, a 187.4-kilometer mountain stage finishing at Alto de Aitana. Stage 20 delivers another mountain test one day before the finale.
Canadians Can Make The Vuelta Part Of Their Morning
European racing means Canadian fans don't have to sacrifice their evenings to follow the action.
Stage 9, for example, is expected to run approximately 6:26-11:14 a.m. Eastern and 3:26-8:14 a.m. Pacific.
The final stage is even more accessible, running approximately 10:23 a.m.-1:07 p.m. Eastern and 7:23-10:07 a.m. Pacific.
Canadian viewers can watch the Vuelta live and on demand on FloBikes, with replays and highlights also available.
The Vuelta Leads Straight Into Montréal
The Vuelta finale on Sept. 13 isn't the end of Canada's cycling summer.
It's essentially the beginning of the next chapter.
Just seven days later, the UCI Road World Championships begin in Montréal. The championships run Sept. 20-27 and mark the first Road Worlds in Montréal since 1974.
That gives Canadian fans a rare opportunity: Watch cycling's biggest stars battle through Spain, then get ready for the cycling world to arrive in Canada.
Why 2026 Is Finally Tadej Pogacar’s Vuelta a España Year
Tadej Pogačar is returning to the Vuelta a España for the first time since 2019, when he won three stages and finished third overall as a 20-year-old.
Now, he comes back as the biggest rider in the sport.
We break down why 2026 is finally the right year for Pogačar’s Vuelta return. If he wins, he completes the set of all three Grand Tours.
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