Vuelta a España Haunted By Red-Haired Viral Video Prankster

The Vuelta a España, long the runt sibling among cycling's Grand Tours, promised to be bigger and better than usual this year, thanks primarily to the participation of Tadej Pogacar. The protests that stymied last year's race had successfully de-Israelized the peloton, and the 2026 edition had the glitz of a Monaco start, the showcase of the best rider in the world going for the win, and an interesting, adversarial course. But this is the Vuelta, where weird stuff happens, and the race stumbled into a controversy of its own making on its very first day because the organizers hired a viral vertical-video prankster to promote it. Meet Erola Jons. The 28-year-old Catalan influencer has racked up millions of followers (and presumably millions of Euros) by going around with a tiny microphone and pranking unsuspecting passersby by pretending to flirt with them. The Vuelta gave Jons an all-access pass with the idea that she could take people behind the scenes, interview riders and staffers, and bring all 21 stages to the world. https://twitter.com/lavuelta/status/2091205277081043398

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