'The worst year of my career': Landa ready to turn the page ahead of Euskaltel return

Mikel Landa says 2026 has been the worst season of his career and that he is waiting for it to end, with his final months at Soudal Quick-Step overshadowed by the after-effects of a crash in April.

Landa was 27th on the Andorra stage in the opening week. He has finished outside the top 50 on every other stage of this Vuelta a España, an unusual return for a rider whose career has been built on the mountains.

"I'm not doing well. I started off rough, then I had a slight improvement, but the truth is I couldn't really participate much in the race during the second week," Landa told AS.

He has thought about abandoning and decided against it, with Friday's stage to Peñas Blancas the reason he is still here.

"I'm still here because I'm optimistic about Friday. I think I can turn things around, and that's what I'm hoping for."

The crash came at the Itzulia Basque Country in April and required surgery. Three seasons at Soudal Quick-Step end with this race, the best of them 2024, when he finished fifth at the Tour de France while riding in support of Remco Evenepoel, who was third.

"It's been the worst year of my career. I'm just looking forward to it ending and starting the next one," he said. "I don't know if I'll race the Italian classics afterwards or finish with the Vuelta. I don't feel ready to race them, to be honest, but the team decides."

What follows is a return to where he started. Landa turned professional with Orbea before joining Euskaltel-Euskadi in 2011, and has since ridden for Astana, Sky, Movistar, Bahrain and Soudal. He signs a two-year deal that takes him to the end of 2028, a move he has described as something he had dreamed about for years.

"The idea was always in my mind, but the circumstances weren't right. This time I saw the opportunity and said, now or never. Otherwise it was something that would just stay unresolved forever," he said. "It's a two-year deal, and I don't want to go there just for a stroll, not at all. I wanted to go to a team where I could contribute on a sporting level."

He tried to take others with him. Pello Bilbao came close to accepting, and Ion Izagirre was also approached, but both retire after Il Lombardia in October. Bilbao has since said Landa's offer was the only thing that made him reconsider stopping.

"It's a shame we can't all finish there, but that's normal. They've already made a decision, and once they make it, it's difficult to go back," Landa said.

Euskaltel are fighting to finish inside the top 30 of the team rankings, which would put them in line for a Grand Tour invitation next season.

"They're close, they fight for it every day, there's still time this season, and I think they can achieve it. And if they don't, I'll make sure to contribute as much as possible to be there next year," he said. "It's a new project that motivates me a lot and gives me the strength to keep going."

He also had a word for the man in red. Enric Mas joined Movistar in 2020, the year Landa left.

"It's a more open race than when Pogačar was in it. Enric Mas looks good, confident, with a team that's working well around him, and he has a great opportunity to win this Vuelta."