September 8, 2026
The third week opens up with a stage that goes mostly downhill from the start at 600 meters above sea level in Cortegana near the Portuguese border down to the sea in Palos de la Frontera for a total of 181 km. Although the route is quite spikey with a number of climbs between 6-9%, they are not very long and none are categorized. By the time the riders reach the Intermediate and Bonus Sprints in Villarrasa with 66.5 km to go, the majority of the elevation will have been dealt with and flat roads await all the way to the finish. The last 5 km are terribly complicated. There is a sharp right corner that the riders will lose all momentum through at 3 km to go then a straight run along the Odiel River with a right-left chicane in the last 500 meters. All signs point to a bunch sprint but with such a dominant duo of Matthew Brennan and Wout van Aert for Visma-Lease a Bike, other teams will have to come up with some strategy because waiting for the sprint does not seem to be a winning option.
Race Summary
While not as hot as two days ago, the temperature at the finish was a sweltering 37C (99F). Through KM0, the break took a while to form but a group of five got away that included Kevin Vermaerke of UAE-XRG, Simon Dalby of Uno-X Mobility, Valentin Madouas of Groupama-FDJ United, Roland Thalmann of Tudor Pro Cycling, and Jasha Sütterlin of Jayco AlUla. With 104 km to go, the break had 2 minutes on the peloton who were being pulled by Visma-Lease a Bike.
The race continued through Minero de Riotinto which was still black from the second largest wild fire ever in Andalusia that devastated the region just a month ago. The climb out of the gulch was short but steep and Jørgen Nordhagen was making life very difficult for everyone in the bunch. By the top, the gap was down to 1 minute 20 seconds and fluctuated between 1 minute 10 seconds and 1 minute 30 seconds as they rode out of the hills and onto the coastal plains.
Vermaerke went uncontested through the Intermediate and Bonus sprint in Villarrasa with 66.5 km to go with just 1 minute 10 seconds on the main field. Cofidis and Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe each added a man to the chase and with 52 km to go, the gap was down to 40 seconds and the gap looked like it was on its way to closing for good, a bit earlier than a traditional sprint day.
A few medieval castles and monasteries dotted the landscape but very little else was of interest as the bunch continued their way towards the coast. They managed to stave off the chase by increasing their effort and held the gap at 30 seconds but with 28 km to go, teams moved forward in the bunch to prepare for a change of direction which trimmed off more time. Through a narrowing with 24.5 km to go, a few riders hit the ground, including Ivo Oliveira of UAE-XRG, as the pressure and speed was ramping up. The catch of the break happened 1 km later and the race was back together as Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe took charge of the peloton. Word filtered through that Felix Gall of Decathlon CMA CGM was at the back of the group and Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe lit up the pace. They were pulling through and off to pry open any advantage they could on the Austrian but his teammates were organized and brought Gall back to the front with 21 km to go.
The race settled back down when everyone was present and accounted for but teams stayed near the front keep their position coming into the finale. Action didn't really kick off until 5 km to go when the fight to stay at the front intensified. Soudal Quickstep was there for Alberto Dainese as well as Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe for Jordi Meeus, Visma-Lease a Bike for Matthew Brennan. Movistar and Netcompany-Ineos were also present at the front to keep their GC men Enric Mas and Oscar Onley safe and out of trouble. Uno-X Mobility arrived at 3 km to go to put their nose in the wind but staying at the front was nearly impossible with the high speed and wide roads.
Soudal Quickstep took the lead through a chicane over a set of railroad tracks with 1,300 meters to go and lined out the bunch as they passed under the red kite. Uno-X Mobility still had a few men towards the front as did Visma-Lease a Bike but the main trains had mostly dissolved. As they took the final sweeping left into the finish straight, lead out riders for Uno-X Mobility and Soudal Quickstep were looking backwards for their leaders and there was an ebbing of the pace. Wout van Aert took the slowing as an opportunity to take control and he opened the taps with 400 meters to go with Brennan in his wheel. Behind Brennan was Bryan Coquard of Cofidis, Magnus Cort of Uno-X Mobility and Jordi Meeus. Van Aert offered an absolute arm chair ride to Brennan dropped his off at 150 meters. When the Brit went, it was a formality because no one could come close to matching the speed and Brennan took his fourth win in convincing fashion. Coquard snagged another second place with Vito Braet of Lotto Intermarché next across the line, staying just clear of Meeus to finish third on the day.