The 2026 Vuelta a Espana will kick off in just a bit and there is no bigger favourite for overall victory than Tadej Pogacar. The world champion has hardly shown any weakness throughout this season, and it's not expected he would do so at the Spanish Grand Tour either. But 2015 champion Fabio Aru be...

Wout van Aert arrives at the Vuelta a Espaa 2026 in good shape and eager to make his mark from day one. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider admits the past few weeks have been key to regaining confidence on the time trial bike, especially after the elbow injury that affected his build-up. In the l...

With the Vuelta a Espaa about to head off from Monaco, Orbea has announced that each member of its sponsored Lotto-Intermarch team will ride a different custom-painted Orca Aero at the presentation the day before the official start.The custom painted Orca Aero bikes are an opportunity for Orbea to showcase its MyOrbea Custom bike configuration programme, with each design created using the online platform. Orbea points out that any purchaser can choose the same colour combination and components as the pros.There are four designs with a tinted visible carbon finish, while the other four have solid base colours, which Orbea says will create a stronger visual impact. Theyre also likely to involve more paint and so be heavier; Look told BikeRadar its Iconic Prism paint scheme for the Tour de France weighed around 80g more than the raw black 795 Blade RS 3.Here are the eight custom coloured bikes for the team: Jarno Widar's Orbea Orca Aero. Lars Craps's Orca Aero. Lorenzo Rota's Orca Aero. Luca Van Bonen's Orca Aero. Reuben Thompson's Orca Aero. Roel van Sintmaartensdijk's Orca Aero. Steffen de Schuyteneer's Orca Aero. Vito Braet's Orca Aero. The latest Orca Aero was launched just ahead of this year's Tour de France and has the widest tyre clearance of any pro bike at 37mm, which is as wide as allowed in road races under the UCI regulations. It's claimed to be 21 watts faster than the 2022 Orca Aero, once a rider is aboard, and one of the fastest bikes used by any pro team.In part thats due to a large, 78mm bottom bracket drop and a geometry that promotes positional stability and lowers the rider's frontal area. Theres a reduction in the frames frontal area too, as well as a keel at the bottom bracket.The Lotto-Intermarch team will have a special kit for the Vuelta, to avoid confusion with the race leaders red jersey. Its a deeper pink/red colour than the usual Lotto-Intermarch jersey and Orbea says that the bikes paintwork has been chosen to match. How to watch the 2026 Vuelta a Espaa | Global options for live streams, broadcasters and highlights

Josh Tarling is to ride the Vuelta a Espaa "in honour of his brother Fin", who died last week in an accident at the Volta a Portugal.Finlay Tarling died on stage eight of the Portuguese race last Friday, after he was hit by a non-race driver. Just over a week later, his elder brother Josh will start the Vuelta in Monaco on Saturday, having been included on Netcompany-Ineos's roster for the Spanish Grand Tour.In a press release on Thursday, Ineos director of racing Geraint Thomas said: "It also goes without saying that, as a team, we all fully support Josh in his decision to take part in the race."Hours later, Tarling's parents, Dawn and Michael, posted on Instagram that he does so with their support too."On Saturday Joshua will be riding the Vuelta," they wrote."He has chosen to do so in honour of his brother Fin, with the full support of his family, surrounded by a team who have been incredibly supportive of whatever decision he made."I could not have wished for two boys who were closer growing up and into adulthood we have watched with pride as Joshua has been the most loving and supportive big brother to Fin. Following this devastating news he has been an incredible strength for us all."Finlay was so incredibly proud of his big brother, and would be watching nose to the TV and shouting as he competed."So it is right that Josh honours that love."Josh Tarling will be targeting the Vuelta's two individual time trials, the first of which comes on Saturday, a 9.4km test against the clock in Monaco, and the second of which isn't until stage 18. However, if he gets through the race, he will be among the favourites for the flat 32.1km TT in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia.The former European and British time trial champion is yet to win individually on the road in 2026, but has Grand Tour victory experience, taking stage two of last year's Giro d'Italia in Tirana. A GoFundMe page created in memory of Finlay Tarling, aiming to raise money to support young Welsh riders in the future, has raised over 70,000 in less than a week.

The 2026 Vuelta a Espaa is the seasons final Grand Tour with a game-changing ingredient: Tadej Pogacar. The world champion arrives in Spain after winning the Tour de France and aiming to extend a palmars that already seems inexhaustible. From Monaco, the race gets underway this Saturday with an o...

Its Friday, the weekend is fast approaching (and the Vuelta too), and Ryan Mallons back with another instalment of the Julian Alaphilippe Appreciation Society sorry, I mean the live blog