Wout van Aert Doubles Down in Córdoba on Stage 15 of La Vuelta 26
PALMA DEL RÍO > CÓRDOBA (September 6, 2026) – Córdoba and the number two once again belonged to Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike). Two years after taking his second La Vuelta stage victory in the Andalusian city, the Belgian superstar returned to claim another win there, this time attacking his way to victory on stage 15.
After a heat-shortened 110.2-kilometre stage from Palma del Río to Córdoba, Van Aert powered away from a relentless five-rider breakaway and proved too strong in the finale. Only four riders could stay with the green jersey wearer into the final kilometres, but none could match his finishing kick.
Wout likes to race this way,
“Maybe I should never come back [to Cordoba] because I can’t remain unbeaten here! But maybe I come for holidays [laughs].
We tried to surprise the bunch. We took control the whole day and we were still there with a few strong guys to help us. But I knew people would not expect that we would chose to attack. I smelled the moment at the intermediate sprint. And with Matthew [Brennan] behind, there was no risk at all to give it a try, because we always had a good option in the bunch. That was how I like to race.
It was a bit difficult [to control the finale]. My Belgian companions [Thibau Nys and Ramses Debruyne] were really strong. They helped a lot, and so did Romele from Astana. But I think Leknessund gambled a bit for his teammate that was in the back. We kind of expected an attack from him. It started up quite late so in the last few kilometres I just wanted to keep it together and to make sure it was a sprint.
[The team’s balance in La Vuelta 26] is amazing actually. Most of the days that we thought we were able to win, we won actually. That’s pretty impressive. And on a stage like today, how we took control as a team is something to be really proud of. I have to be very grateful for the work of the boys again.”
Alessandro Romele (XDS Astana) finished second, ahead of Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek). Alessandro Covi (Jayco AlUla) was the fastest of the chasers, finishing 58 seconds behind the winner.
Enric Mas (Movistar) finished safely with the peloton and retained La Roja heading into the final week of La Vuelta 26.
A Shortened Stage and a Fast Start
The stage route was modified after the high-temperature protocol was activated following a meeting involving the Commissaires’ Panel, the teams, the riders and La Vuelta management. The revised route covered 110.2 kilometres from Palma del Río, making its debut as a La Vuelta stage town, to Córdoba.
The start and finish were flat, but the middle section featured enough climbing to give the attackers an opportunity to challenge the field.
The race immediately erupted. Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ United) attacked as soon as the flag dropped and continued trying until he finally found his opening at kilometer 9.
Ten riders joined him before the day’s hills: Frederik Wandahl (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Ivo Oliveira (UAE Emirates-XRG), Xabier Mikel Azparren (Pinarello-Q36.5), Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step), Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility), Rudy Porter (Jayco AlUla), Alastair Mackellar (EF Education-EasyPost), Fabian Weiss (Tudor), Reuben Thompson (Lotto-Intermarché) and Gijs Leemreize (Picnic-PostNL).
Cofidis, riding for Bryan Coquard, and Visma-Lease a Bike, working for either Matthew Brennan or Van Aert, kept the breakaway on a short leash. The gap reached only 1:17 at kilometer 20.
The Breakaway Explodes
Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost) attacked on the first categorized climb, the category 3 Puerto de la Forestal, whose summit came at kilometer 34.5. The German climber’s move created a 12-rider lead group with 70 kilometres remaining.
The attacks continued over the rolling terrain toward the second categorized climb, the category 3 Puerto Artafi at kilometer 73.6. Bruno Armirail (Visma-Lease a Bike) set a strong pace in the peloton to cover the attacks while the breakaway began to splinter.
By the summit, Leknessund had ridden away from his breakaway companions. Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech) was less than 10 seconds behind the Norwegian, while the gap to the peloton had fallen to just 20 seconds.
Five Riders Break Clear
Leknessund and Debruyne came together ahead of the intermediate sprint at kilometer 78.9. Romele took third place ahead of Van Aert, who continued pushing the pace.
The chase duo quickly caught the two leaders, and Nys bridged across as well. The five riders established the decisive move while the pace in the peloton dropped.
Several riders attempted to counterattack, but none could get closer than 45 seconds to the leaders. As the race entered Córdoba, the five began attacking each other.
Nys made the first major move with three kilometres remaining. Leknessund then counterattacked, but Van Aert remained alert and controlled the situation.
With the finish approaching, Van Aert made his move. The Belgian powered to the line to claim his second stage victory of La Vuelta 26 — and his second victory in Córdoba.
Romele finished second and Nys third. Covi led the chasing group across the line 58 seconds behind Van Aert.
Mas and the peloton finished 2:44 behind the winner, with Mas retaining the overall lead heading into the second and final rest day.
Mas was happy with his team, “To be honest, it was one of our plans to let the breakaway go and let Jumbo [Visma-Lease a Bike] and Cofidis control until the finish. That was until Wout [van Aert] attacked at the intermediate sprint. Not everything has gone like we wanted since last Sunday, but almost everything has been under control, so I’m happy. To be honest, I really like when we race in Spain. I feel a lot of support from the people and I hope it continues like this until Granada.”
Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) was thrilled in retaining the polka dot jersey for the Mountains Classification: “I’m very happy that tomorrow is a rest day. Personally I really need it, and this way we’re ready for the final week. I think [having a 29-point lead] is never enough, knowing how much is left. There are two very key stages in this Vuelta, with Saturday’s stage awarding almost 50 points. We have to recover well, be very smart, and defend ourselves until the end. I’m definitely aiming for a stage win, and I’ll certainly try again in this final week. Winning a stage would be the icing on the cake, especially with this jersey.”
Stage 15 Video Highlights:
Stage 15 Results:
| 1 | W. VAN AERT | TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | 02h 35′ 00” | – | B : 10” | – |
| 2 | A. ROMELE | XDS ASTANA TEAM | 02h 35′ 00” | – | B : 8” | – |
| 3 | T. NYS | LIDL-TREK | 02h 35′ 00” | – | B : 4” | – |
| 4 | R. DEBRUYNE | ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | 02h 35′ 02” | + 00h 00′ 02” | B : 6” | – |
| 5 | A. LEKNESSUND | UNO-X MOBILITY | 02h 35′ 02” | + 00h 00′ 02” | B : 4” | – |
| 6 | A. COVI | TEAM JAYCO ALULA | 02h 35′ 58” | + 00h 00′ 58” | – | – |
| 7 | B. TRONCHON | GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | 02h 35′ 58” | + 00h 00′ 58” | – | – |
| 8 | H. MULUEBERHAN | XDS ASTANA TEAM | 02h 35′ 58” | + 00h 00′ 58” | – | – |
| 9 | S. KÜNG | TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | 02h 35′ 58” | + 00h 00′ 58” | – | – |
| 10 | I. OLIVEIRA | UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | 02h 35′ 58” | + 00h 00′ 58” | – | – |
General Classification after Stage 15:
| 1 | E. MAS | MOVISTAR TEAM | 52h 05′ 56” | – | B : 22” | – |
| 2 | F. GALL | DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | 52h 08′ 02” | + 00h 02′ 06” | B : 8” | – |
| 3 | P. ROGLIC | RED BULL – BORA – HANSGROHE | 52h 08′ 06” | + 00h 02′ 10” | B : 4” | – |
| 4 | R. CARAPAZ | EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST | 52h 10′ 20” | + 00h 04′ 24” | – | – |
| 5 | O. ONLEY | NETCOMPANY INEOS CYCLING TEAM | 52h 11′ 40” | + 00h 05′ 44” | B : 10” | – |
| 6 | J. OMRZEL | BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | 52h 12′ 10” | + 00h 06′ 14” | B : 10” | – |
| 7 | M. SKJELMOSE | LIDL-TREK | 52h 12′ 45” | + 00h 06′ 49” | B : 2” | – |
| 8 | C. RODRIGUEZ | XDS ASTANA TEAM | 52h 12′ 57” | + 00h 07′ 01” | B : 12” | – |
| 9 | C. BERTHET | GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | 52h 13′ 15” | + 00h 07′ 19” | B : 2” | – |
| 10 | S. KUSS | TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | 52h 14′ 51” | + 00h 08′ 55” | – | – |
