Enric Mas finally won the Vuelta a España: historic victory confirmed in Granada
Enric Mas won the 2026 Vuelta a España, achieving the biggest victory of his career to date. The Spanish Movistar rider finished the 81st edition of the race with a lead of 2 minutes and 15 seconds over Primož Roglič of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, while Felix Gall of Decathlon CMA CGM Team took third place, 2 minutes and 44 seconds behind. According to La Vuelta's official final classification, after 3014,8 kilometres of racing Mas had a total time of 73 hours, 52 minutes and 55 seconds. The finale was held in Granada on Sunday, 13 September, and the final, 21st stage was won by Norwegian Tobias Johannessen of Uno-X Mobility. This brought to an end a race in which Mas, after three previous second places and another third place, stood on the top step of the final podium for the first time.
The victory of the 31-year-old Mallorcan also carries strong historical significance. La Vuelta organizers state that Mas became the 64th different winner of the race and the 25th Spanish cyclist to win it. He is also the first home winner since Alberto Contador in 2014, ending a 12-year wait for a Spanish champion of the national Grand Tour. In Granada, Mas completed a journey that began back in 2018, when as a 23-year-old he won the stage on Coll de la Gallina and finished second overall. He repeated second place in 2021 and 2022, and was third in 2024, so his final rise to the top came after four previous final podium finishes.
Roglič second, Gall the first Austrian on the final podium
Primož Roglič finished the Vuelta in second place, 2:15 behind Mas. For the four-time winner of the Spanish Grand Tour race, this was, according to the organizers' official report, his sixth career final podium at the Vuelta. The Slovenian remained Mas's closest rival throughout the final week and reduced the gap particularly on stage 18, the individual time trial between El Puerto de Santa María and Jerez de la Frontera. After that stage, La Vuelta reported that Mas had lost 33 seconds to Roglič, but retained the red jersey with a 1:37 advantage and entered the final days with a sufficiently large cushion.
Felix Gall took third place, 2:44 behind, thereby achieving a historic result for Austrian cycling. The organizers state that he became the first Austrian to finish on the final podium of the Vuelta a España. Behind the top three, Richard Carapaz finished fourth, 6:54 behind, while Sepp Kuss was fifth at 8:45. Oscar Onley finished sixth and won the white jersey for the best young rider, and La Vuelta's official data state that he thereby became the first Briton to win that classification at the Spanish Grand Tour.
Mas's victory was not the result of one decisive attack, but of three weeks during which, after taking the lead, he managed to respond to different kinds of challenges. Movistar had to control the mountain stages, limit losses in the time trial and defend the advantage over Roglič, Gall, Carapaz and other riders near the top of the standings. Ahead of the final weekend, Mas repeatedly emphasized that the advantage was not large enough to relax. After stage 18, he told the organizers that he was satisfied with the time lost in the time trial, but also that two important days and the finale in Granada were still to come.
Pogačar's crash changed the race, but Mas then confirmed his lead
One of the key moments of this year's Vuelta occurred as early as 29 August on stage eight from Puçol to Xeraco. Tadej Pogačar, who was leading the general classification at the time, crashed at high speed and had to abandon the race. La Vuelta's official report stated that after the crash he tried to continue, but withdrew because of visible injuries to his left arm and shoulder. EFE later reported that Pogačar had to undergo surgery because of a collarbone injury. Following his withdrawal, Mas took the red jersey and became the first Spaniard to lead the Vuelta since 2018.
Pogačar's departure from the race opened the battle for overall victory, but the very next day Mas showed that he did not intend merely to defend the lead. On stage nine, the hardest in terms of total elevation gain up to that point, he won at the summit of Alto de Aitana. According to La Vuelta's report, Movistar controlled a large breakaway group, Mas responded to attacks from his rivals, and then left most of his direct opponents behind on the final climb. Oscar Onley was the only rider who stayed with him until the very end, but was unable to overtake him. With that victory, Mas increased his advantage to 1:18 over Roglič and 1:39 over Gall.
It was his second stage victory at the Vuelta, eight years after his win on Coll de la Gallina in 2018. The organizers also highlighted at the time that he had become the first Spanish rider since Alberto Contador in 2014 to win a Vuelta stage while wearing the leader's red jersey. The victory on Aitana was also important because of the way it was achieved: Mas was no longer merely a rider benefiting from the change in circumstances after Pogačar's crash, but a leader who was creating a gap over his main rivals in a direct mountain showdown.
The final mountain test passed without a change at the top
Before the final stage in Granada, one more extremely demanding section had to be survived. Stage 20, 186,8 kilometres long from La Calahorra to Collado del Alguacil, was the final major opportunity for changes in the general classification. Mikel Landa won the stage with a solo attack, while Mas retained the lead and entered the final day with an advantage that did not change afterward. EFE reported after that stage that Roglič remained second and Gall third, while Mas had practically secured the overall victory ahead of Granada.
After stage 20, Mas said in a statement for the race's official website that he felt that way for the first time in his life and that in the finale he was literally counting down the kilometres. He particularly emphasized the work of the team, which was in line with the way Movistar had ridden for most of the race: setting the pace at the head of the group, controlling breakaways when necessary and trying to position Mas as well as possible before the decisive climbs. In the final stage, that team picture was repeated, only in a completely different atmosphere, because the objective was now primarily to bring the red jersey safely to the final checkpoint for the general classification.
Neutralized final circuit around the Alhambra
The final stage was 112 kilometres long, starting and finishing in Granada, a city that hosted the actual finish of the race for the first time in 81 editions of the Vuelta. According to the official report, 142 riders were at the start. After approximately 65 kilometres, the peloton entered the city and began riding a final 9,8-kilometre circuit, with the climb toward the Alhambra area as the main feature of the route. The organizers, in agreement with the jury panel of the International Cycling Union, decided that times for the general classification would be neutralized at the penultimate passage through the finish line, 9,8 kilometres before the final finish.
EFE reported that the decision was made after a larger number of teams expressed concerns about safety on the final circuit. As a result, the final 9,8 kilometres could not affect the general classification, and no time bonuses were awarded at the finish either. Points for the points classification were still awarded, so the final circuit remained competitively important for the stage victory. For Mas, the neutralization meant that the title was officially confirmed before the final passage through the finishing circuit, but even after that the stage did not lose its sporting intensity.
In the final kilometres, attacks followed one another on the circuit around the Alhambra. La Vuelta's official report states that Bastien Tronchon launched one of the key attacks around 28 kilometres from the finish, prompting reactions from riders including Tobias Johannessen, Matthew Brennan, Léo Bisiaux, Milan Vader, Axel Laurance, Thibau Nys, Valentin Paret-Peintre and Alessandro Romele. The groups repeatedly came together and split apart, and on the final climb Pello Bilbao also attacked, in what was his final Grand Tour stage before retiring from professional cycling.
Johannessen takes the biggest victory of his career
The battle for the stage was decided in a reduced sprint. In the final kilometre Ramses Debruyne, Tobias Johannessen and Alessandro Romele broke clear, and the Norwegian was the fastest in the final showdown ahead of Romele. Debruyne finished third. The organizers described Johannessen's victory as the greatest achievement of his career and his first stage win in a Grand Tour. The previous day he had been second behind Mikel Landa on Collado del Alguacil, so in Granada he received another opportunity and made the most of it.
After the finish, Johannessen said that he had not expected the victory because the team initially wanted to make the final day special for Magnus Cort. After finding himself in the leading group on the final circuit, he tried to conserve energy and wait for the situation to develop. When it became clear that a sufficient gap had opened, he focused on positioning for the final corner and the sprint. In his official statement, he emphasized that he had been seeking such a victory for a long time and that more than three years had passed since his previous professional win.
While Johannessen fought for the stage victory, Mas covered the final kilometres behind the leading group in a celebratory mood with his teammates. La Vuelta states that he crossed the finish line alongside the six Movistar riders who completed the race with him. That scene summarized the logic of the entire three weeks: the individual winner was Mas, but his result was inseparable from the team's control, protection and work through the mountain stages, transitional days and the time trial.
Mas's victory changes the picture of his career
For Mas, this title is more important than the mere fact that he won another stage race. For years he had been one of the most consistent riders at the Vuelta, but without an overall victory. He was second in 2018, when he was beaten by Simon Yates, then second again in 2021 behind Roglič and in 2022 behind Remco Evenepoel. In 2024 he finished third. It was precisely after that race, according to La Vuelta's official announcement, that Mas spoke openly about his desire to finally win the Spanish Grand Tour one day.
Two years later, that wish came true in a season in which he had to take advantage of the opportunity created by Pogačar's withdrawal, but also withstand pressure from his rivals throughout the remaining almost two weeks of racing. His victory on Aitana, controlled losses in the time trial and stability on the final mountain stages showed that the title was not decided solely by the misfortune of the previous leader. After taking the red jersey, Mas retained control of the race and ultimately celebrated with an advantage of more than two minutes.
Historically, his triumph gave Movistar another overall victory at the Vuelta after the previous titles of Pedro Delgado in 1989, Abraham Olano in 1998, Alejandro Valverde in 2009 and Nairo Quintana in 2016. For Spanish cycling, the title also ends a period without a home winner that had lasted since Contador's triumph in 2014. For Mas himself, however, the most important fact remains simple: after three second places and one third, he finally finished the Vuelta in first place.
Van Aert takes the green jersey, Buitrago the mountains classification
Granada did not bring only the resolution of the battle for the red jersey. Wout van Aert won the points classification and the green jersey, and La Vuelta states that the Belgian became the 13th rider from his country to win that title in the Spanish race. In addition, he was also named the most combative rider of the entire edition. Santiago Buitrago won the polka-dot jersey for the best climber and became the fifth Colombian to win the Vuelta's mountains classification.
Oscar Onley finished as the best young rider and sixth overall, while Decathlon CMA CGM Team won the team classification. This concluded the 81st edition of the race, which began on 22 August in Monaco and ended on 13 September in Granada. After more than 3000 kilometres of competition, the final standings were clear: Enric Mas first, Primož Roglič second and Felix Gall third. For Mas, Granada became the place where a years-long series of podium finishes was finally turned into victory.
Sources:
- La Vuelta – official stage 21 report, final standings, the course of the finale in Granada and winners of the special classifications (link)
- La Vuelta – official final classification of the 81st edition, total time and gaps in the general classification (link)
- La Vuelta – official stage 8 report on Tadej Pogačar's crash and withdrawal and Mas taking the red jersey (link)
- La Vuelta – official stage 9 report and Mas's victory on Alto de Aitana (link)
- EFE – report on the neutralization of the final circuit in Granada and the safety reasons for the decision (link)
- EFE – report on stage 20, Mikel Landa's victory and the standings ahead of the Vuelta finale (link)
- La Vuelta – Tobias Johannessen's statement after his victory in Granada (link)
- La Vuelta – Enric Mas's statement after stage 20 and a review of the finale of the battle for the overall victory (link)