The central streets of Andorra la Vella and Escaldes-Engordany were transformed for one day into a true cycling capital. The debut Andorra Cycling Masters took place here, bringing together four of the world’s top riders: Primož Roglič, Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, and Isaac del Toro. The large-scale event immediately attracted the attention of cycling fans and became a key date in the region’s sporting calendar.
The program featured two stages: a morning individual time trial on the challenging Coll de la Gallina climb (8.2 km, gradients up to 15%) and an afternoon city criterium. Roglič, competing for Red Bull-Bora, confidently won the first part of the competition, earning the ‘Master of the Year’ title. In the second race, del Toro managed to outsprint Roglič at the finish, but overall, he remained second after both stages.
Pogačar and Vingegaard, having completed a demanding season, did not push the pace and focused on maintaining their form. Pogačar, wearing the rainbow jersey of world champion, made it clear that his priority is preparation for the world championship in Canada. He noted that after the stages in Montreal and Quebec, he will most likely stay in North America to train, and participation in the next Vuelta a España is currently unlikely.
Pogačar still aims to match the achievements of legends like Binda, Van Steenbergen, Merckx, Freire, and Sagan, each of whom became world champion three times. The Tour de France remains at the heart of his plans, as a victory there would allow him to join the elite club of five-time winners.
Vingegaard, who claimed victory at the Vuelta in September, shared his intention to test himself at the Giro d’Italia. He emphasized that he dreams of collecting all three major Grand Tour titles, although the Tour de France will remain his main goal. The Danish rider from Visma-Lease a Bike is already developing strategies for the next season to challenge Pogačar in July.
The Andorra Cycling Masters was marked by vivid moments: packed streets, fans waving flags, children greeting their idols, and photographers chasing the best shots on the Coll de la Gallina. All these episodes will be featured in a special documentary to be released by the end of the year, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the preparations and performances of the main stars.
Additionally, a 50-minute program was filmed that day, with its premiere scheduled for late November. Andorra, which hosted four world cycling stars at once, concluded its first large-scale festival of modern cycling. The victory went to Roglič, but each participant received their own prize: del Toro strengthened his position among the elite, Pogačar and Vingegaard set their sights on the future, and the small principality once again proved that sports at high altitude are especially intense.
