TakeVuelta4 weeks ago
Enric Mas is 112 kilometres from his first Grand Tour title, and the final-lap neutralization around Granada makes his 2:15 lead over Primož Roglič untouchable barring a crash. That margin wasn't handed to him — he built it across 12 stages of mountain wins and time trial control after inheriting the jersey when Tadej Pogačar crashed out on stage 8. Mas arrived at this Vuelta with muted expectations after thrombophlebitis wiped out his 2025 season.
Mas will become Spain's first Vuelta a España winner since Alberto Contador in 2017 — a bigger story than the circumstances of how he took red. «Tadej crashed, I didn't win the red jersey,» Mas said the day he inherited it, but the gap has since grown from 1:00 to 2:15 through his own stage wins and steady losses limitation, not Pogačar's absence. Felix Gall sits third at 2:44 after closing ground on stage 20, too far back to matter with the finale's safety neutralization in place. Stage 21's four passes of the Alhambra climb will decide the stage winner, not the general classification.
Sources
How Enric Mas won the 2026 Vuelta a España2026 Vuelta a España GC standings – Enric Mas limits his losses as Gall, Skelmose suffer on stage 18Final lap of Vuelta a España's closing stage in Granada to be neutralised after safety concerns raisedVuelta a España 2026 Stage 21 preview: Mas set for coronation as Granada circuit gives Van Aert and Brennan one final chance
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