Vuelta a España: Pogacar ready for the Monte Carlo time trial, but warns: "We'll have to use our brakes."

With over 58,000 meters of total elevation gain, the 2026 Vuelta a España has already been described by race director Javier Guillén as the toughest ever. But it's tonight's opening time trial, a very short one, entirely through the streets of Monaco , that risks going down in history as one of the most technical in the history of the Spanish race.

Just 9.4 kilometers , a profile full of curves and only 170 meters of elevation gain out of the more than 58,000 meters expected in this edition: as the big favorite Tadej Pogačar summarized in the press conference, "it won't be a 60 km/h time trial pushed to the maximum. We'll have to use the brakes."

With the start set for 7:19 PM local time on what looks set to be a warm and dry evening in the Principality, Pogačar promised a battle but also played down his chances of wearing the red jersey just steps from his home.

Despite knowing the roads like the back of his hand, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider announced that he will still carry out a thorough reconnaissance to minimize the risks.

"Just slow down a bit on the corners, that's all," Pogačar said Thursday, responding to questions about Wout van Aert 's claims—the big favorite for Saturday, who even built a simulated course to train for the time trial, according to Het Laatste Nieuws —that "the organizers have pushed this course to the limit."

"I know the roads really, really well. I ride them on my motorbike, in my car, on my bike, and I walk on them. It's not ideal, but it won't be a flat-out 60-mph time trial," Pogačar continued.

"We'll have to use the brakes and adopt a different effort management strategy than we're used to."

A 10-minute effort

Pogačar explained that during the reconnaissance, once the route has been cordoned off, it will be possible to identify the riskiest corners and understand how best to tackle them.

The Slovenian also highlighted the similarities between this route and the opening time trial of the 2022 Tour in Copenhagen – although fortunately the weather in Monaco is looking much better than in Denmark, where rain made life quite difficult for the top riders who started among the last.

“It’s quite technical, it reminds me a bit of the Copenhagen time trial at the [2022] Tour de France; there too we passed through a garden, a pavement or something like that,” he said.

"Ultimately, every runner has to manage their own effort. The course can be as technical as they want, but it's up to each individual to decide how hard to go."

It must be said that Pogačar doesn't have particularly happy memories of the opening time trials of the Vuelta. In the inaugural 2019 team time trial in Torrevieja, near Alicante, in a surreal incident, a paddling pool in a garden near the course broke during the race, spilling water downhill onto the road. Several teams, including UAE and Jumbo-Visma, fell as a result.

However, given his success rate in the sport as a whole, Pogačar can never be left out of any competition he enters, and he has promised to give his all to capture the only missing Grand Tour leader's jersey in his palmarès since the first stage.

"I'll give it my all. The first stage won't be easy for me. I'll do my best, but the competition on the first day will be very high," he said.

"There are guys who will be very fast and very skilled, who will be very strong on this course. I'll give it a try; I just want to start the race, get there and see how it goes."

Photo: Sprint Cycling Agency