Enric Mas seals La Vuelta and nears his first Grand Tour

Enric Mas has effectively secured La Vuelta 2026 after defending the red jersey on the final mountain stage to the Collado del Alguacil. The Movistar leader finished 38 seconds ahead of Primož Roglič and will start Sunday's closing stage in Granada with a 2:15 advantage. Felix Gall remains third at 2:44, only 29 seconds behind Roglič.

The general-classification battle began far from the finish when Richard Carapaz and Sepp Kuss attacked on the first ascent of El Purche. Mas used teammates positioned further up the road and controlled each dangerous move. Gall accelerated on the final climb in an attempt to take second place, while Mas again rode clear of Roglič and increased his lead.

Mas now has only the 99.4-kilometre final stage around Granada between him and the first Grand Tour victory of his career. Carapaz holds fourth place at 6:54 and Kuss has climbed to fifth at 8:45, ahead of Oscar Onley. Barring an incident, Mas will become the first Spanish winner of La Vuelta since Alberto Contador in 2014.