00:03After stage 3 was cancelled yesterday due to some wild weather in the Pyrenees,
00:08La Vuelta resumes this Tuesday with a big mountain stage in Andorra.
00:13I think it was predicted that the storm would be there but the hail was not predicted.
00:18So it came a bit as a surprise and then just passing after the KOM,
00:23we got told that the race was neutralized or stopped.
00:27But I think in the end it was better for the safety of the cyclists
00:31and our health also to stop the race yesterday.
00:36Well this is the first big mountain stage of this edition
00:39with opportunities for stage hunters and polka dot pretenders alike.
00:43A man who ticks both boxes is Lorenzo Fortunato,
00:46who was on the attack yesterday when the stage was stopped.
00:50The first goal is to win stage.
00:53So I stay here to try to win stage and the second goal is to win jersey.
00:58But we see day by day.
01:00Today can be a very good day for taking a lot of points but we will see.
01:05The first objective is to win a stage.
01:07Race leader Tadej Pagacar has fond memories of Andorra,
01:10where he took his first victory at La Vuelta seven years ago,
01:14just the sixth win of his career.
01:16Super happy to be back here.
01:19One of the best of memories from career I have from a similar stage to today.
01:26So yeah, I'm looking forward.
01:29Today's stage will be held almost entirely within Andorra,
01:32home to a host of professional cyclists,
01:34including Sepp Kuss, who won a stage of the Tour here in 2021.
01:39It's really cool.
01:40I mean, the race just goes by so much faster when you know every part of the road
01:44and of course it feels different in a race than in training
01:47but for me just being in the race and hearing my name from people I know is really special.
01:56There are four climbs packed into just over a hundred kilometres today.
02:00Port de Envaliera, Collada de Bechales, Col de Ordino and Alto de la Comella
02:05before a final descent into Andorra la Vella.
02:08Almost 3,000 metres of elevation gain on what will be a brutal day in the saddle.
02:21Well, shortly after the flag dropped,
02:23the riders hit the Port de Envaliera more than 20 kilometres at 5%,
02:27and a group of around 20 opened up a small gap.
02:31Visma-Lisebike had four men in there, Van Aerts, Brennan, Tulitz and Amirai,
02:36while there were strong climbers like Fortunato, Steinhauser, Dunbar and Castillo.
02:43But they weren't given any kind of rope because UAE and Pogaccia were clearly in the mood.
02:48A bit further up the climb, Decathlon CMA CGM took over,
02:51no doubt to put Felix Gall's GC rivals under pressure.
02:56The breakaway shedding riders?
02:58Either they didn't have the legs or they realised the move was doomed.
03:02Further back, the likes of Ethan Hayter in green and Koen Bauman in polka dots
03:06were preparing for a day in the Grappetto.
03:08While back at the front, Paul Double looked to get the jump on Fortunato for the KOM points.
03:20And it's going to be Fortunato who comes across the top of this category one climb.
03:24He takes the ten points.
03:26It's Paul Double who takes second place at the top of this climb.
03:33It didn't take long for the peloton to catch the breakaway,
03:36as they swept down past Padelacaz and made a brief incursion into France.
03:41The race altogether again, with 70 kilometres to ride.
03:49Next up was the Collada de Bichales, another category one climb, shorter but steeper.
03:546.5k at 8.5 per cent, with passages at 16 per cent towards the start.
04:01Decathlon still leading the peloton, although a couple of their riders,
04:04Callum Scottson and Sander de Pestel soon said goodbye.
04:08The peloton being thinned down to a group of favourites,
04:12although one man wasn't happy with this pace and decided to up the tempo.
04:17And here we go. Tadi Pogacar in the red jersey.
04:21Now starts to unleash Felix Gall at the moment is the only rider that's able to go with La Roca.
04:29Pogacar going solo, 50k from the finish, with Gall trying and failing to follow.
04:34It looks set to be another show of supremacy from the Slovenian.
04:38Gall soon caught by the other chasers, with EF's Juan Felipe Rodriguez working hard for his leader, Richard Carapaz.
04:45Henrik Maas, Primoz Roglic, Sepp Kuss and Oskar Onley were also in this group.
04:51By the summit though, Pogacar already had a minute and 30 seconds in hand,
04:55and he continued to pull away on the descents.
05:03The world champion reaching the intermediate sprint and also pocketing 20 points towards his green jersey,
05:09with the chasers now paying more attention to each other than the man up the road.
05:15Onto the colder Ordino, 10km at 7%.
05:19Pogacar's lead up to over 2 minutes, with more than 30k to ride.
05:23All eyes were now on the chase group to see who would make a move.
05:27Gall having another go with Onley on the wheel, and the rest trying to hunt them down.
05:31Roglic was the closest, with Maas and Kuss a bit further back.
05:37Well those five came together before the summit of the Ordino, with Carapaz around 20 seconds further back.
05:44Pogacar's advantage yawning out to nearly 3 minutes, with the Slovenian simply in a league of his own.
05:52He snaffled another 10 points at the summit, to shore up the polka dot jersey as well.
05:59Well Skielmoza and Carapaz joined the Roglic group before the final climb,
06:02along with Gall's team-mates Gregor Mulberger and young hotshot Yano Videre,
06:07winner of the Baby Giro in 2024, and European under-23 champion in 2025.
06:14The Alto de la Comea was just 4km at 6%, so no sweat for Pogacar, who didn't need to take
06:21any risks in the final.
06:26Gall attacking yet again, and the last climb proved too much for two of the men who've just completed the
06:31Tour de France,
06:32Skielmoza and Canapaz.
06:34That left six men chasing behind Pogacar, Gall, Kuss, Maas, Onley, Roglic and Videre,
06:41but they got to the finish line a long time behind the day's winner, another masterclass from the world's best
06:46cyclist.
06:51Seven years later, he wins another stage of the Vuelta Espana, and so much has happened since then.
06:57He takes a commanding win, with an attack that spans 50km.
07:04Felix Gall wants the six bonus seconds if he can.
07:08The 20-year-old Belgian Yano Videre is going to come through down the centre of the road.
07:12Look at this from the youngster.
07:14Wow! He's going to take second place here in Andorra la Vella.
07:20Pogacar enjoys a solo victory, and today's was his longest at a Grand Tour, just over 50km, beating his 43k
07:27solo to Gavon Ingedre at this year's Tour.
07:30The Slovenians celebrating his fifth Vuelta stage win, where he also took his first in Andorra, and taking a big
07:37step towards overall victory.
07:39I don't want to be isolated against all the juicy riders, because they will all play against me.
07:45I tried with an attack on the climb, and I just hope that I can survive until the finish, when
07:54I saw that I can open the gap.
07:56And yeah, I did it, and it was pretty tough, but a beautiful day out there.
08:02Pogacar with the 21st win of what is turning into his best ever season.
08:06A great effort from 20-year-old Videre to come second, he is clearly a rider to watch in the
08:11coming weeks.
08:14Pogacar now leads the race by 3 minutes 21 from Roglic, but the battle for the podium promises to be
08:19fascinating, with only 50 seconds between 2nd and 10th place.
08:25Pogacar tightened his grip on Green with a maximum haul today.
08:28He leads by 45 points from Ethan Hayter, who didn't take any points yesterday when the results were scrubbed.
08:35And the Slovenian picked up 23 points on the climbs, so he's also the king of the mountains by 13
08:41points from Fortunato.
08:44Onley moves into the white jersey as the race is best young rider by 21 seconds from Videre.
08:49The GC battle should take a back seat on stage 5, as the sprinters and punchers go head to head.
08:55Join us for that on Wednesday.
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