Final showdown of La Vuelta 2026 with the brutal summit finish atop the Alto de l'Angliru (12.5km at 10.1%, with the final 6.5km averaging a monstrous 13.5%). A first selection was made on the Alto de Santo Emiliano. After the descent, Femke Markus attacked, soon joined by her sister Riejanne and later also by Liane Lippert. Behind, UAE and Visma imposed a strong tempo on the climbs, reducing the peloton to around 40 riders. The leading trio reached the foot of the Angliru with an advantage of 1'45", with Lippert going solo on the lower slopes. The first half of the climb was ridden at a relatively controlled pace by the GC group, but once the riders hit the brutal final section, with 6.5 km to go, an acceleration from Realini completely exploded the race.
Stiasny immediately responded and moved to the front, setting a fast pace. Only van der Breggen, Bunel, Blasi, Berthet and Cavallar held on. Lippert was caught and dropped at 5.5km from the summit. With 4.3km to go, Bunel launched a fierce attack. Blasi gradually clawed her way back, while, surprisingly, van der Breggen suddenly cracked, forced to climb with an extremely light gear. Shortly aftet Blasi counterattacked and dropped Bunel, who was then reeled in by an incredible Stiasny. The Swiss pure climber produced a stunning comeback and, with 2km to go, even bridged across to Blasi before dropping her on one of the Angliru’s brutal 25% hairpins.
In a completely unexpected outcome, Stiasny conquered the stage, claiming the second victory of her career after a minor race win in El Salvador. 22" behind, Paula Blasi crossed the line in second, but for the young Spaniard it was still a historic day: after her triumph at the Amstel Gold Race, the 23-year-old completed an extraordinary achievement by winning her home Grand Tour just two years after taking up cycling after a youth career between athletics, football and duathlon/triathlon. Berthet and Bunel followed at 42", while van der Breggen managed to limit the damage in the finale, finishing at 57".