“Extremely frustrating”: Vuelta peloton criticised for neutralising final day circuit that “didn’t seem that bad”; UCI ‘toothcomber’ Jan-Willem Van Schip calls it quits + more on the live blog

Stop all the clocks, cut off the live tracker, prevent the rabid ‘cyclismo’ tweeters from sharing their juicy opinions.

Grand Tour season is over, for both the men and the women and, in an unexpected turn of events it’s the men’s season that has given us the most diverse set of jersey winners.

📊👕12 jersey winners of the 2026 GrandTours:

🏆GC
🇮🇹🩷🇩🇰Vingegaard
🇫🇷💛🇸🇮Pogačar
🇪🇸❤️🇪🇸Mas

💨Points
🇮🇹🟣🇫🇷Magnier
🇫🇷🟢🇩🇰Pedersen
🇪🇸🟢🇧🇪van Aert

⛰️KOM
🇮🇹🔵🇮🇹Ciccone
🇫🇷🔴🇪🇨Carapaz
🇪🇸🔵🇨🇴Buitrago

👶Youth
🇮🇹⚪️🇵🇹Eulálio
🇫🇷⚪️🇲🇽del Toro
🇪🇸⚪️🇬🇧Onley

— Cycling Statistics 📊 (@StatsOnCycling) September 13, 2026

We also have only one rider who appeared on the podium of two Grand Tours this year, and it’s neither Jonas Vingegaard nor Tadej Pogacar, but Felix Gall. The Austrian putting together comfortably the best season of his career to date.

There aren’t the words here to aptly describe Saturday’s insane mountain stage, not least because there also weren’t the images on the television telling us what was going on, with there seemingly only being enough TV motorbikes to cover two groups on the road.

In short, the first GC attacks began with 100km remaining, the leaders were repeatedly isolated and Sepp Kuss attempted to do a Simon Yates and catapult himself up the GC whilst the favourites behind looked at one another. It worked, moving up from 11th to 5th overall, whilst Primoz Roglic repeatedly set-up attacks only to lack the punch, before Felix Gall on the final climb managed to distance both him and even Enric Mas, though not by enough to reclaim his second place overall. Oscar Onley meanwhile suffered a difficult day and dropped to sixth overall, though he held on to his white jersey of best young rider. Oh, and Mikel Landa won! A beautiful, rather emotional sight…

Then came yesterday’s stage, a Montmartre-esque final day in Granada comprising a slow ride from the suburbs before laps of a circuit with a climb up towards the Alhambra Palace. It was intended to be a firecracker involving all the main protagonists, only we then received the news that the times would be taken before the finish and that none of the race’s bigwigs needed to contest the stage.

The end result was a peloton of the favourites led round rather sedately by Movistar, whilst around 30 riders broke free to contest the stage that was won, impressively, by Tobias Halland Johannessen.

It’s becoming a trend in cycling for riders to demand neutralisations in any city centre circuit. We saw the same thing when the Giro d’Italia visited Milan in May, and we’ve now seen it two years in a row in Paris, even though the weather this year was dry.

From the sofa yesterday, it was hard to know what could justify the neutralisation. The streets were a little narrow, but road furniture was well sign-posted, the descent of the climb was long but on a wide, looping road. The weather was clear, warm, but not scorching hot.

This has all prompted much discussion as to the future of final stages, and also the use of ‘safety’ as an argument for when a peloton doesn’t want to race, and would maybe rather spend longer doing this sort of thing…

YouTuber Benji Naesen wrote the longest critique of the neutralisation:

“I’m extremely frustrated and demotivated that riders can’t unite on actual safety issues that matter but regularly use their leverage with organisers and the UCI on symbolic GC neutralisations that don’t move the needle.

“Riders are wearing helmets that only have to adhere to the most basic safety specifications.

> “We have to look at helmets”: Riders’ union president calls for “major upgrade” on helmet safety standards after Finlay Tarling killed by van driver on race route – but admits “closing every single road is difficult”

“Unlike other sports, there’s no comprehensive health screening and prevention policy related to RED-S. Stakeholders (UCI and teams) quarreled for 2 years over data ownership of GPS tracking, indirectly stalling the implementation of these safety devices.

> Investigation into Muriel Furrer’s death finds no wrongdoing, but sparks claims it took “an athlete dying for the UCI to kick into action” on GPS tracking

WorldTour races still include downhill lead-ins to mass sprint finishes despite Lappartient saying that shouldn’t be happening, multiple years ago.

“Money that was meant to be used for rider safety, was used by the UCI to fight a court case against SRAM, and the CPA seemingly decided that without internal vote on whether the riders are OK with that money being spent there.

> SRAM wins landmark appeal over controversial gearing trial as court rules governing body failed to show how new rules would improve safety

“Extreme Weather Protocol for extreme heat is a well-designed system, but wasn’t applied on Sierra de la Pandera when the red temperature band was hit. Those are some of the many issues where riders need a united stance, and stand up for their safety, but they don’t.”

well, as far as last stages go, that could’ve been an email. either gc neutralise all final stages of grand tours going forward or don’t (aside from things like extreme weather) but let’s not randomly bring it up the day before for a circuit that really didn’t seem that bad

— robyn (@robynemz.bsky.social) 13 September 2026 at 18:48

It will remain baffling to fans that these things are being discussed the day before the stage. If a moratorium on GC-relevant final stages in Grand Tours is the sport’s desire, put it in the UCI regulations. Or, organisers, make every last stage a TT.

— Daniel Friebe (@friebos) September 12, 2026

Food for thought. For what it’s worth, I understand the argument people make that neutralising GC can improve the viewing quality of stages. But I think they’re wrong. The people who want to make a race of it can still make a race of it, but the idea that riders have a right to opt out of keeping up with everyone else is a bit nuts, particularly on a course that didn’t seem dangerous. Otherwise, where will it all end?

They should take times with 3 laps to go in the Mens World Championships Road Race.

— Donal (@Spelt_D_o_n_a_l) September 13, 2026

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Velo Crush (@velocrushzurich)