2026 Vuelta a España

Gall Secures a Podium Spot Before the Final Stage!

Felix Gall once again showed his best side ahead of the Vuelta finale...(Bild: EPA/JAVIER LIZON)

Felix Gall is on track to finish the Vuelta on the podium! On the challenging penultimate stage, the East Tyrolean fended off all attacks from Richard Carapaz, who is fourth in the general classification, and even attacked Primož Roglič himself on the final climb of the queen stage up the Collado del Alguacil. However, the Slovenian defended his second-place position behind Enric Mas. The Spaniard is on the verge of overall victory. The stage was won by his compatriot Mikel Landa.

Gall’s day got off to a rough start. The Decathlon team captain soon had to do without his domestique, Matthew Riccitello. It quickly became clear that Carapaz was threatening his third-place position. The Ecuadorian tried his luck as early as the first of four steep climbs. Gall had to chase after him and caught up with his rivals again shortly thereafter. By that point, a breakaway group had already built up a lead of about ten minutes.

Gall put pressure on Roglic
Shortly before the end of the second climb, Carapaz tried to break away again, and once more Gall had to catch up to him. The East Tyrolean fended off yet another attack by the South American. On the final climb—the toughest of this year’s Vuelta—Gall then tried his luck. With only Mas in pursuit, he left Roglic behind. Even the Spaniard was then unable to keep up with the Austrian. In the end, Roglic held on to a 29-second lead over Gall, who finished 13th on the stage. Carapaz is now more than four minutes behind the podium.

“I wanted to make a strong impression on the final climb,” Gall said at the finish. The priority now is simply to finish the final stage. It covers just 112 kilometers around Granada. The finish line is crossed for the first time after about 70 kilometers, followed by four final laps. According to rumors, the race is set to be neutralized before the final lap, and the general classification will be finalized. The only thing left to decide would then be the stage victory. The reason for this move—which has not yet been officially confirmed—is reportedly the riders’ safety.

“An outstanding season”
If Gall holds his position as expected, he would have finished on the podium in a second Grand Tour this year, following his second-place finish at the Giro. “It’s really been an outstandingseasonso far. The big goal this year was to fight for the podium at a Grand Tour. That worked out great at the Giro, and I’m really happy that I was able to show I’m in great shape here as well,” said Gall. From an Austrian perspective, the only rider before him to achieve a podium finish in one of the major stage races was Adolf Christian, who finished third overall at the 1957 Tour de France.

The 31-year-old Mas leads Roglic by 2:15 minutes heading into the final stage and would be the first Spaniard to win the Vuelta since Alberto Contador’s triumph in 2014.