{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","title":"Vuelta a Espana 2026: The Preview","description":"The 2026 Vuelta a España rolls out from Monte Carlo at the weekend, and we’ll be on the ground for the eleventh straight year to bring you all of the action, starting with our race preview.\n\nBefore Daniel Friebe and Larry Warbasse assess the route and riders, we reflect on the devastating passing of Finlay Tarling in last week’s Volta a Portugal. Harrison Wood was also racing in the Volta. He gives us the rider’s perspective of what occurred.\n\nFor our look ahead to the Vuelta, Larry honestly answers the question of whether he or any of the other riders in the field can realistically hope to beat Tadej Pogačar (clue: it’s a fairly resounding ‘no’). Having established that, we look closely at a decidedly spicy route and what opportunities it may offer riders not targeting the GC.\n\nIn Loving Memory of Finlay Tarling\nFollowing the tragic death of Finlay Tarling in stage 8 of the Volta a Portugal, a fund has been set up, with the blessing of his parents and in Finlay’s name, with the goal of providing an opportunity to help future generations of young Welsh riders. You can contribute here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/for-fin-s2u87\n\nEpisode sponsors\n\nNordVPN\nGet NordVPN two-year plan + four months extra ➼ https://nordvpn.com/tcp It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee.\n\nFollow us on social media:\nTwitter @cycling_podcast (https://twitter.com/cycling_podcast)\nInstagram @thecyclingpodcast (https://www.instagram.com/thecyclingpodcast/)\n\nFriends of the Podcast\nSign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com (http://thecyclingpodcast.com/) to listen to new special episodes every month plus a back catalogue of more than 300 exclusive episodes.\n\nThe 11.01 Cappuccino\nOur regular email newsletter is now on Substack. Subscribe here (https://thecyclingpodcast.substack.com/) for frothy, full-fat updates to enjoy any time (as long as it’s after 11am).\n\nThe Cannibal & Badger\nFriends of the Podcast can join the discussion at our virtual pub, The Cannibal & Badger. A friendly forum to talk about cycling and the podcast. Log in (https://thecyclingpodcast.supportingcast.fm/) to your Friends of the Podcast account to join in.\n\nThe Cycling Podcast is on Strava (https://www.strava.com/clubs/thecyclingpodcast)\n\nThe Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.","author_name":"The Cycling Podcast","author_url":"https://audioboom.com/channels/1405050-the-cycling-podcast","provider_name":"Audioboom","provider_url":"https://audioboom.com","width":480,"height":95,"thumbnail_url":"https://audioboom.com/i/43795888/600x600/c","thumbnail_width":600,"thumbnail_height":600,"html":""}