Omrzel conquers Calar Alto with a solo exhibition

Jakob Omrzel claimed the biggest victory of his young career on stage 12 of La Vuelta a España, covering the 166.6 kilometres from Vera to the Calar Alto Observatory in 4:29:53. The 20-year-old Slovenian from Bahrain Victorious emerged as the strongest rider from the breakaway on a route containing five classified climbs and finished alone at 2,140 metres above sea level.

The final climb measured 16.9 kilometres at an average gradient of 5.6%, after the race had already crossed the Alto de Velefique. Urko Berrade finished second at 1:56, while Omrzel's teammate Santiago Buitrago completed the podium at 2:13 and strengthened his lead in the mountains classification.

The result also transformed Omrzel's position in the overall standings. He climbed from tenth to sixth place, 4:59 behind race leader Enric Mas, capping an outstanding day for Bahrain Victorious with two riders on the stage podium.