Vuelta gives ground to riders with late Stage 21 rule change

General classification times will be taken with 9.8 kilometres remaining, when the riders cross the finish line for the penultimate time. The stage victory will still be contested on the final lap.

The decision was confirmed by race organiser Unipublic following talks with the riders’ union CPA and the UCI commissaires.

“The organiser in agreement with the UCI Commissaires’ Panel have decided to neutralise the time for the general individual classification in Stage 21 starting with the last local lap at 9.8KM before the finish,” Unipublic said in a statement.

Bonus seconds at the finish will not count towards the general classification, although points for the points classification will still be awarded.

The confirmation brings an end to more than 24 hours of discussions over how the final stage of the 2026 Vuelta should be raced.

AS journalist Dani Miranda had reported earlier on Sunday that it was increasingly unlikely that the full 112 kilometres would be completed with the general classification at stake. He later reported that an agreement had been reached to freeze the times before the final lap, shortly before the Vuelta made the decision official.

A majority of teams were reportedly in favour of protecting the general classification on the final day, although there was no unanimous agreement. The Vuelta organisation and the UCI had initially resisted a broader neutralisation, with several alternatives under discussion, including freezing the times on the final lap.

Concerns centred on the technical nature of the Granada circuit. The route includes narrow roads, twisting descents and sections of slippery tarmac through the city, as well as a partially cobbled climb of around 2.1 kilometres at an average gradient of 6.6 percent.

Decathlon CMA CGM rider Sander De Pestel was among those who publicly called for action, arguing that three weeks of racing should not be decided by a crash or mechanical problem on the final circuit.

“It is not a circus either,” De Pestel told Sporza.

He pointed in particular to the possibility of a general classification contender suffering a puncture or crash at a point where returning to the group would be almost impossible.

“The general classification riders have been fighting for every second for three weeks,” De Pestel said. “Then they could suddenly lose two minutes because of a puncture. That would be a shame.”

De Pestel stressed that neutralising the general classification did not have to remove the spectacle from the stage itself.

“I am a fan of spectacle too,” he said. “But I think it can be just as good a race if the times are neutralised.”

He pointed to the Tour de France as an example. On stage 21 of this year’s Tour, general classification times were also taken before the final part of the race, ahead of the three ascents of Montmartre.

The neutralisation did little to reduce the action, with Tadej Pogačar attacking several times before Mathieu van der Poel eventually won the stage.

The Vuelta will now use a similar solution in Granada. The overall standings will remain live until 9.8 kilometres from the finish, while the final lap will still decide the stage winner.

Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) is the leading favourite for victory in Granada, while Enric Mas (Movistar) is on the verge of becoming Spain’s first Vuelta winner in 14 years.