The 2026 Vuelta a España has already lost three riders before Stage 5, with Sergio Chumil, Alex Kirsch and Cian Uijtdebroeks all confirmed out of the race.
Chumil became the first withdrawal after crashing during Stage 2, Kirsch abandoned while feeling unwell on the subsequently cancelled Stage 3 towards Font-Romeu, and Uijtdebroeks has been withdrawn by Movistar ahead of Stage 5 after further examinations of the fractured ankle he suffered in a Stage 2 crash.
The Vuelta began in Monaco with 184 riders from 23 teams. With three confirmed withdrawals, 181 riders remain ahead of Stage 5.
This page will remain live throughout the three weeks and will be updated whenever a rider abandons, does not start, finishes outside the time limit or is disqualified. The aim is to provide one running Vuelta withdrawal list showing exactly when each rider left and, where it has been confirmed, why their race ended.
Vuelta a España 2026 withdrawal list at a glance
Latest update: Cian Uijtdebroeks will not start Stage 5 because of the ankle fracture suffered on Stage 2.
| Rider | Team | Exit | Status | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sergio Chumil | Burgos Burpellet BH | Stage 2 | DNF | Crash, with head injury and deep wound to left elbow |
| Alex Kirsch | Cofidis | Stage 3 | DNF | Felt unwell |
| Cian Uijtdebroeks | Movistar Team | Stage 5 | DNS | Fractured left ankle following Stage 2 crash |
Total withdrawals: 3
Riders remaining: 181 of 184
DNF: 2
DNS: 1
OTL: 0
DSQ: 0
The original 184-rider field can be found in ProCyclingUK’s full Vuelta a España 2026 start list.
Sergio Chumil, Burgos Burpellet BH
Stage 2 | DNF | Crash
Sergio Chumil became the first rider to abandon the 2026 Vuelta during Stage 2 from Monaco to Manosque. The Guatemalan crashed with around 50km remaining and was unable to continue, with injuries reported to include trauma to his head and a deep wound around his left elbow.
His departure reduced Burgos Burpellet BH to seven riders on only the second day of the race and first conventional road stage. Unlike some riders caught in crashes who are able to complete a stage before undergoing further assessment, Chumil’s injuries were serious enough for his Vuelta to end immediately.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Rider | Sergio Chumil |
| Team | Burgos Burpellet BH |
| Final stage | Stage 2 |
| Status | DNF |
| Reason | Crash |
| Injuries | Head injury and deep wound to left elbow |
| Hub status | Confirmed withdrawal |
Alex Kirsch, Cofidis
Stage 3 | DNF | Illness
Alex Kirsch became the second rider to leave the Vuelta during Stage 3 from Gruissan-Aude towards Font-Romeu.
The experienced Luxembourg rider abandoned after feeling unwell, with his departure coming before severe hail later brought the entire stage to a halt on the Col de Mont-Louis. Kirsch’s withdrawal therefore remains an individual DNF even though the stage itself was subsequently cancelled.
The distinction matters. The Font-Romeu stage cancellation removed the stage result and GC finish, but it did not reinstate a rider who had already abandoned before the race was stopped.
Kirsch’s exit was also a significant loss for Cofidis because his value extends beyond personal results. He joined the team for 2026 after several seasons with Lidl-Trek and brought considerable experience in positioning, Classics racing and helping faster riders through difficult finales.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Rider | Alex Kirsch |
| Team | Cofidis |
| Final stage | Stage 3 |
| Status | DNF |
| Reason | Felt unwell |
| Hub status | Confirmed withdrawal |
Cian Uijtdebroeks, Movistar Team
Stage 5 | DNS | Fractured ankle
Cian Uijtdebroeks becomes the third rider to leave the race after Movistar confirmed that he would not start Stage 5 from Falset-Costa Daurada to Roquetes-Terres de l’Ebre.
His withdrawal traces back to a crash on Stage 2. Uijtdebroeks continued racing afterwards and further assessment identified a fracture in his left ankle, but he was still cleared to start the mountainous Stage 4 around Andorra la Vella.
The decision produced one of the most difficult images of the opening week. Uijtdebroeks was dropped almost immediately once the climbing began and spent most of the 104.8km stage fighting simply to reach the finish. He eventually crossed the line in 182nd and last place, more than 26 minutes behind Tadej Pogačar, visibly emotional after completing a stage that passed across his home training roads.
Further examinations after the finish showed that the injury was more extensive than initially estimated, and Movistar decided that continuing into Stage 5 was no longer appropriate.
Because Uijtdebroeks completed Stage 4 within the time limit but does not start Stage 5, his official exit is recorded here as a DNS on Stage 5, rather than a Stage 4 DNF.
His departure also changes Movistar’s race tactically. ProCyclingUK’s Vuelta team-by-team guide identified Enric Mas as the team’s principal leader but Uijtdebroeks as a genuine second GC option. Movistar are now entirely reliant on Mas for their overall ambitions.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Rider | Cian Uijtdebroeks |
| Team | Movistar Team |
| Final completed stage | Stage 4 |
| Official exit | Did not start Stage 5 |
| Status | DNS |
| Reason | Fractured left ankle following Stage 2 crash |
| Hub status | Confirmed withdrawal |
Vuelta a España 2026 withdrawals by stage
This section provides the quickest chronological view of how the peloton has been reduced and can be followed alongside the individual rider entries above.
| Stage | Rider | Team | Status | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | None | All 184 riders completed the Monaco time trial | ||
| Stage 2 | Sergio Chumil | Burgos Burpellet BH | DNF | Crash |
| Stage 3 | Alex Kirsch | Cofidis | DNF | Felt unwell |
| Stage 4 | None | All riders who started reached the finish | ||
| Stage 5 | Cian Uijtdebroeks | Movistar Team | DNS | Fractured ankle after Stage 2 crash |
Riders affected by crashes who are still in the Vuelta
A crash does not automatically mean a rider belongs on the withdrawal list. Several riders have already hit the ground during the opening stages and continued racing, so their status needs to remain separate until either the rider finishes the Vuelta or a team confirms that an injury has forced them out.
Sergio Samitier was involved in a Stage 2 crash but continued in the race afterwards. Unless later examinations result in a withdrawal, he remains an active rider and should not be added to the abandonment total.
Frederik Wandahl was also affected by a crash during Stage 2 and continued. His situation illustrates why Grand Tour injury monitoring can extend beyond the day of the original incident, with swelling and other symptoms sometimes becoming more significant overnight.
Uijtdebroeks is the clearest example so far of that delayed process. He crashed on Stage 2, completed another two stages and only became an official withdrawal before Stage 5 once further medical assessment showed that continuing was no longer viable.
What do DNF, DNS, OTL and DSQ mean?
There are four main ways a rider can appear on a Grand Tour withdrawal list, and they should not be treated as interchangeable.
A DNF, or did not finish, means the rider started a stage but abandoned before reaching the finish. Chumil and Kirsch are the first two examples at this Vuelta.
A DNS, or did not start, means a rider completed the previous stage but did not line up the following day. Uijtdebroeks is the first 2026 Vuelta example because he completed Stage 4 before being withdrawn ahead of Stage 5.
An OTL, or outside time limit, means the rider physically reaches the finish but takes longer than the maximum time permitted under the race regulations. No rider has yet been eliminated in this way in 2026.
A DSQ, or disqualification, occurs when the commissaires remove a rider from the race for a rules infringement. There have been no disqualifications so far.
The outcome is the same in each case because the rider cannot continue, but retaining the correct status makes the running list considerably more useful as the number of withdrawals increases.
Why Uijtdebroeks is a Stage 5 DNS, not a Stage 4 DNF
Uijtdebroeks’ situation is exactly the type that can make Grand Tour withdrawal lists confusing.
He was injured before Stage 4 and struggled throughout the Andorran mountain stage, but he still reached the finish within the permitted time. Officially, he therefore completed Stage 4.
The decision to end his Vuelta came afterwards.
As he does not take the start of Stage 5, his race ends as a Stage 5 DNS. The same rule will be applied to every rider added to this tracker: the official status reflects how the rider left the race rather than simply the stage on which the problem responsible first occurred.
That distinction will become increasingly important as crashes and illness accumulate. A rider can crash one day, finish, undergo scans that evening and then be removed from the race the following morning.
Have any riders missed the Vuelta time limit?
No rider has yet been eliminated outside the time limit.
That is likely to become a much bigger issue as the race moves deeper into its mountain-heavy route. The Vuelta uses different percentage allowances according to stage difficulty and the winner’s average speed, meaning the exact closing control changes from day to day.
ProCyclingUK’s Vuelta a España 2026 time cuts explained guide covers the full system, including the different stage groups, percentage allowances and why the hardest mountain stages can become another race entirely for the sprinters at the back.
Uijtdebroeks came under considerable pressure on Stage 4 after being dropped early with his ankle injury but still reached Andorra la Vella safely inside the limit.
A rider who finishes outside the cut will be added to the main withdrawal table as OTL, rather than DNF.
How many riders are still in the Vuelta a España 2026?
The 2026 Vuelta start list contained 184 riders from 23 teams when the race began in Monaco.
Three have now left:
- Sergio Chumil
- Alex Kirsch
- Cian Uijtdebroeks
That leaves 181 riders in the race ahead of Stage 5.
The figure will be updated alongside the main table whenever another withdrawal is confirmed.
Why this list is likely to grow quickly
Three withdrawals after the opening four completed racing days is unlikely to remain a particularly large number by the time the Vuelta reaches Granada.
Crashes create immediate withdrawals such as Chumil’s, but they can also produce delayed DNS decisions once fractures, concussion or other injuries become apparent after the stage. Illness tends to become increasingly important as riders spend more time travelling, sharing hotels and accumulating fatigue, while the hardest mountain stages introduce the additional threat of the time limit.
The 2026 route makes that attrition particularly relevant. Climbers fighting over the red jersey may finish a mountain stage almost an hour before the final riders, and those at the back have to calculate their effort carefully enough to survive without using more energy than necessary.
That means the withdrawal picture can change almost every morning as teams publish medical updates following the previous day’s racing.
Vuelta a España 2026 withdrawal tracker
The current position after the opening stages is:
3 riders out. 181 riders remain.
Stage 2: Sergio Chumil, DNF
Stage 3: Alex Kirsch, DNF
Stage 5: Cian Uijtdebroeks, DNS
No riders have yet been recorded as outside the time limit or disqualified.
This page will continue to be updated throughout the Vuelta as the field is reduced, with every new withdrawal added to the master table, the relevant stage section and an individual rider entry once the reason has been confirmed.
