ESPN, which broadcasts the Vuelta a España across Latin America, is facing criticism after cutting away from live coverage just as Tadej Pogačar was about to cross the finish line in the opening stage of the 2026 race on Saturday, August 22.
The stage was a 9.4-kilometre individual time trial through the streets of Monaco. As Pogačar approached the finish, with the outcome still uncertain, ESPN's broadcast cut without warning to an advertisement previewing a tennis match, according to footage that circulated on X.
Viewers React on Social Media
The clip was shared by Uruguayan user Eddy Mansulino, who said the interruption was scandalous and a lack of respect for cycling. He said that with Pogačar just 50 metres from the finish, the broadcaster cut the feed without notice to show a preview of a tennis match, adding that he was speechless.
Other users piled on in response to the video. One wrote that it was shameful and that they would try never to watch a Grand Tour on the channel again, calling it disrespectful to everyone watching live. Another said the quality of the broadcast had declined in recent times.
Who Is Tadej Pogačar
Pogačar, a Slovenian rider for UAE Team Emirates - XRG, is the reigning Tour de France champion and one of the sport's dominant figures in recent years. The Vuelta a España is the only Grand Tour missing from his career record, and he entered the 2026 edition as the overwhelming favourite to finally add it.
South American viewers following the broadcast missed the moment he claimed it, winning the opening time trial and taking the race's first red leader's jersey by just nine hundredths of a second. He finished ahead of Ethan Hayter of Soudal Quick-Step and Joshua Tarling of Netcompany Ineos.
Not the First Broadcast Controversy
French broadcaster France Télévisions has faced its own criticism in the past over its camera cuts, known as the "bascule," during live cycling coverage, though that controversy never reached the scale of ESPN's missed finish. It is not the first time Pogačar has come close to claiming victory on Spanish roads in circumstances that have frustrated fans watching from home.
