Vuelta a España 2026: surprise winner Bastien Tronchon takes chaotic stage 10 in Elche de la Sierra, Mas keeps red
Stage 10's hilly finish in Elche de la Sierra turned into one of the most chaotic sprints of this Vuelta: the early breakaway was reeled in inside the final 35 kilometres, late attacks from Yevgeniy Fedorov and Xabier Mikel Azparren were caught with only metres to go, and it was Bastien Tronchon (Groupama-FDJ) who surged through for his first-ever Grand Tour stage win, ahead of Magnus Cort, Thibau Nys and a beaten Wout van Aert. Enric Mas came home safely in the bunch to keep his red jersey, still 1:18 clear of Primož Roglič and 1:39 clear of Felix Gall. The full story of stage 10, the GC after ten stages, and a look ahead to the sprinters' last chance in Lorca.
A seven-man breakaway, reeled in with 35 kilometres to go
Over the 184.5 kilometres from Alcaraz to Elche de la Sierra, the peloton climbed three times: the Puerto del Peralejo, the Puerto de Ayna and the Puerto de Socovos. A seven-rider breakaway — Enzo Paleni, Michael Gogl, Jasha Sütterlin, Fabian Weiss, Sinuhé Fernández and Iván Cobo, later joined by a solo-chasing Fredrik Dversnes — was given plenty of rope and built a healthy lead, but was reeled in for good inside the final 35 kilometres by a peloton that knew the slightly uphill finish in Elche de la Sierra was shaping up for a group sprint.
What followed was anything but a controlled run-in to a bunch sprint. Several counterattacks — including a fresh attempt from Dversnes, this time alongside Iñigo Elosegui — kept the peloton on edge in the closing kilometres, with the gaps between escapees, counterattackers and the main bunch never growing beyond a few seconds.
Fedorov and Azparren caught on the line, Tronchon wins the sprint
The final spark came from Yevgeniy Fedorov and Xabier Mikel Azparren, who attacked inside the last kilometre and looked like they might make it stick. They were only caught around fifty metres from the line, swallowed up by a fast-closing peloton. In the chaos that followed, it was Bastien Tronchon (Groupama-FDJ) who forced his way through the gap first, just ahead of Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) and Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek). Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), the big favourite for the stage win, had to settle for fourth. For the 24-year-old Tronchon, who joined Groupama-FDJ this winter from Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, it's the biggest win of his career and his first-ever Grand Tour stage victory.
The stage 10 result
Behind Tronchon, Cort, Nys and Van Aert, Alessandro Romele, Xabier Mikel Azparren, Finn Fisher-Black, Orluis Aular, Jordan Labrosse and Hugo Hofstetter rounded out the top ten — all given the same time as the winner, a sign of just how tight and messy the sprint itself was.
The general classification after ten stages
With the favourites all finishing in the same bunch, the general classification is unchanged: Enric Mas remains the leader, 1:18 ahead of Primož Roglič and 1:39 ahead of Felix Gall. Oscar Onley is fourth at 2:20, ahead of Richard Carapaz (+3:26), Mattias Skjelmose (+3:55), Sepp Kuss (+4:09), Harold Tejada (+4:39), Gregor Mühlberger (+7:33) and Jakob Omržel (+8:05). The jerseys stay with the same riders too: Mas in red, Wout van Aert in green, Santiago Buitrago in the mountains jersey, and Oscar Onley — more than five minutes clear of Omržel — leading the young rider classification.
Looking ahead: the last sprint chance in Lorca, and more Vuelta reading
Wednesday 2 September brings stage 11, from Cartagena to Lorca, on paper the last pure sprint opportunity of this Vuelta. Check the route on our stage 11 page, or read our week 2 preview for everything on the mountain stages that follow, headlined by the one-two punch of the Alto de Velefique and Calar Alto.
Want to catch up on the rest of this Vuelta? Read our stage 9 report from the Alto de Aitana, the stage 4 report from Andorra or the complete guide to the 2026 Vuelta a España. Test your knowledge with our week 1 quiz, or build your own tier list of the contenders.
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