Hello and welcome to the final stage of the 2026 Vuelta a España.

After yesterday's epic slog in the mountains, which saw a thrilling battle for both the GC placings and the stage win, the Vuelta comes to an end with a much more straightforward, simple stage.

It's not necessarily one for the sprinters, however. There's a testing climb in the final circuit in Granada which looks set to make this a fascinatingly balanced battle for the stage win.

Vuelta a España 2026 stage 21 preview - final stage victory is still all to play for in Granada

Despite that climb in the finishing circuit, it does not look as though the stage is going to be raced for GC, following the announcement that the times will be neutralised by the final lap. The riders have cited safety concerns as the reason for the change.

Final lap of Vuelta a España's closing stage in Granada to be neutralised after safety concerns raised

Having been under so much pressure this past week or so, today is at last a chance for Enric Mas to celebrate. This is the day his whole career has been building towards; after four podium finishes at past editions of the Vuelta, and so many more in other races, he can at last call himself a Grand Tour champion.

The riders are at the unofficial start, and five men who are set to retire are being honoured - Pello Bilbao, Jesus Herrada, David de la Cruz, Steven Kruijswijk and Magnus Cort - the latter of which addressed the crowd earlier.

OFFICIAL START

And they're off! Albeit to a slow start, as the end-of-term celebrations commence. Mas and his Movistar team are the first to move ahead of the front of the peloton for their photo, riding arm in arm in custom red jerseys.

While the opening of the stage will be more of a celebration than a race, there are endless stories to unpack from yesterday’s thriller. There might not have been any major changes in the GC, barring Sepp Kuss’ rise to fifth place, but the stage really did have everything.

No final twist after all for Primož Roglič as GC winner-elect Enric Mas and Movistar thrive among the chaos of an epic, breathless Vuelta a España queen stage – Analysis

One rider who is not present to celebrate finishing the Vuelta is Eddie Dunbar. The Irishman crashed out of the race yesterday, but does at least go home as a stage winner after his triumph in the mountains two days ago.

One day after comeback stage win at Vuelta a España, Eddie Dunbar crashes out with fractured collarbone

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Primož Roglič might have failed to take the red jersey from Enric Mas yesterday, but he still looks in good spirits, giving a wave to the TV moto, and chatting and enjoying himself with his companions in the peloton.

'We always had in mind that Primož lost ten days' – Red Bull satisfied with second overall for Roglič at Vuelta a España despite inability to launch final attack on queen stage

Here's a look at the snazzy jerseys the Movistar riders have rocked up in for today's stage, to celebrate Mas' overall victory.

100KM TO GO

The riders are still ambling along at a slow pace as they make their way towards the circuit in Granada. They are still assembling in team formation to have their photo taken, and there's no sign of a race breaking out any time soon.

Here was the retiring riders receiving their guard of honour at the start of the stage, led by Steven Kruijswijk. This will be the last day of racing in the Dutchman's long career, a memorable which saw him star in the mountains early on, nearly win the Giro d'Italia, podium at the Tour de France, and then win multiple Grand Tours as a rebranded domestique for Visma. He'll be sorely missed.

The festivities appear to be finished for now, and Movistar have moved to the front of the peloton to increase the pace a little. It's still more of an amble than a race, but the battle for the stage win will initiate at some point.

This year's Vuelta podium, al of whom look happy with their finish.

For Mas and Roglič, it's a respective five and six time they've finished on the podium here, but for Gall it's a first. He had to dig deep yesterday to defend from an onslaught of attacks from the man directly beneath him on GC, Richard Carapaz.

'Maybe it was a bit boring to watch' – Felix Gall refuses to crack despite onslaught of attacks from Richard Carapaz on Vuelta a España queen stage

An excellent Vuelta got even better for Visma-Lease a Bike yesterday, when Sepp Kuss propelled himself up to fifth overall with a brilliant long-range attack. The team aren’t done yet, either, and will be gunning for an eighth stage win today, with either of their two stars Brennan or Van Aert.

'I never felt like I was alone' - Sepp Kuss pays tribute to Visma-Lease a Bike after making huge GC gains at Vuelta a España

80KM TO GO

There still haven't been any attacks out of the peloton, as Movistar set a gentle pace towards the start of the finishing circuit in Granada. Upon arriving, they will do four laps, where the race for the stage win will take off.

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Oscar Onley was one of the riders to lose a place on GC yesterday to Sepp Kuss, slipping to 6th place, but nevertheless completes what has been a successful Grand Tour thanks to victory in the young riders classification. He's had to overcome some hardship to do so, too, having been ill earlier in the race; to pull off such a result in these circumstances is further proof of his great talent.

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Of all the many storylines to follow during yesterday's stage, perhaps the most heart-warming was Mikel Landa's stage win. For all his talent and brilliant performances over the years, he hasn't actually won that much at this high a level, and certainly not in recent years. It will surely go down as one of the best days of his career.

'Misfortune creates empathy' - Mikel Landa finally finds redemption on toughest Vuelta a España stage

Above all, today is for Enric Mas. Up until he has had a career of near-misses and runner-up finishes, and spoke candidly yesterday about how hard he has had to work to deliver this victory. Chapeau.

'You can't win a Grand Tour without suffering' - as Vuelta a España victory beckons, Enric Mas reveals battle to overcome tough challenges

There are still a lot of teams without a stage win at this Vuelta, will be desperate to do so today. Unusually, Lidl-Trek and Alpecin-Premier Tech are both without one, contrary to how they usually perform, as are NSN, Jayco-AlUla, Astana, Picnic PosnNL, Lotto Intermarché and the wildcard teams Burgos BH and Equipo Kern Pharma. And although they have high placings on GC to celebrate, Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe, Decathlon, EF Education-EasyPost and Netcompany are also lacking one.

This year’s Vuelta is set to come to a close, but there was news today of next year's race. The Gran Partida is set to take place in Galicia, the first time it has been held on Spanish roads for a few years.

Vuelta a España Grand Depart returns to home soil with start in Galicia in 2027

Here we go, the riders are at last in the finishing circuit in Granada! They pass through the finish line for the first time, to huge crowds who have taken to the roadside.

Despite this, the pace is still steady, the race having not yet ignited. It's difficult to know what to expect after the final lap's time neutralisation, and so far there hasn't been an interest in racing.

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Still no attacks forthcoming in the peloton. The pace is up, as Movistar continue to ride at the front of the peloton, but nobody is taking the race on.

30KM TO GO

Lots of teams are moving up to the front now, as the peloton is spread across the road. Still no attacks, but some riders appear to be readying themselves, and are fighting to position.

The race is heating up now. Visma-Lease a Bike first took control at the front of the peloton, with Steven Kruijswijk, riding on the last day of his career. And now Groupama-FDJ take over as they take on the circuit's climb for the second of four times.

At the back, one of the key sprinters is struggling - Jordi Meeus.

Groupama's Tronchon has caused a split over the top of the climb, taking a handful of riders with him, including Brennan, Paret-Peintre, Romele and Van Aert.

A group of eight have gone clear - Brennan, Nys, Paret-Peintre, Laurance, Romele, Fisher-Black, Tronchon and Vader.

There's a large group behind (featuring Van Aert, who didn't quite make the split).

20KM TO GO

It's actually nine men in the lead group - Léo Bisiaux is present too. Behind a chase group is only ten seconds adrift, and chasing hard, as they cross the finish line for the third time - two more laps to go.

The peloton led by Movistar is further behind, and prioritising safety rather then chasing the stage win.

The break has been caught by the chase group, and attacks are coming thick and fast, but nobody is clear at the moment.

The front group is large in size as they race towards the final lap. There are no attacks at the moment - they're waiting presumably for the final ascent of the climb. Meanwhile the peloton is 1:18 behind, being led by Movistar.

10KM TO GO

The riders hear the bell for the last lap! Bahrain Victorious lead the front group over the line, looking to set up Pello Bilbao.

This is going to be an intense one, with multiple riders still in contention for the stage win. Everything is going to explode in a few kilometres when they start the climb.

ATTACK - BILBAO

Bilbao took on the climb with a massive attack, and has a lead of several seconds. Netompany are leading the chase.

Riders are being shelled out the back of the group, including Van Aert and Coquard.

Laurance attacked out the peloton, and has caught and passed Bilbao, who went very deep with that attack.

Riders continue to be dropped from the chase group, which is getting smaller and smaller - and Brennan is among those to have been left behind!

5KM TO GO

Laurance has been caught by a group of about fifteen that have come together on the descent. And Brennan is back among them. There's no way the others will want to take him to a sprint, and indeed they are already attacking each other, with Nys trying a move.

Attacks keep coming, and four riders have managed to get a gap with 2km to go: Debruyne, Romele, Laurance and Johannessen.

The rest are leaning on Brennan to chase them down.

Laurance has been dropped, it appears the stage win will go to one of the other three...

JOHANNESSEN WINS

Johannessen takes the sprint, ahead of more recognised fastman Romele. It's a really close call but the Astana rider get quite had the energy to pass him at the line.

Now the peloton arrives at the finish, lapping up the atmosphere and waving to the crowd, who are making a huge noise. Mostly for Enric Mas - the Spanish have turned out in numbers to celebrate their first home winner since 2014.

That victory was a long time coming, whose second-place finish yesterday was his third in Grand Tours this season alone, in addition to many more runner-up finishes at World Tour level.

It comes in unlikely circumstances, too, for a rider renowned for his climbing above all else.

Spare a thought for Romele, who looked devastated at the finish, holding his head in his hands. He has been one of the breakthrough riders of this Vuelta, and came so close to ending it with a stage win. Sprinting, climbing, attacking - the Italian has it all, and is some talent.

Job done for Movistar! There were doubts about their ability to defend the red jersey when they so suddenly and surprisingly inherited it from Tadej Pogačar, but they handled whatever was thrown at them, and passed the rest with flying colours.

A familiar sight from this year's Vuelta, and especially today - Enric Mas' beaming smile. His final margin of victory over Primož Roglič was 2:15,

Primož Roglič settles for second overall, but doesn't look too disappointed at the finish. Though he would dearly have wanted that record-breaking fifth Vuelta victory, considering where his form has been all year, second place is a very impressive result nevertheless.

Stage winner Tobias Halland Johannessen, in front of the striking podium backdrop in Granada.

King of the Mountains winner Santiago Buitrago.

White jersey winner Oscar Onley.

Points classification winner Wout van Aert.

And finally, the red jersey winner Enric Mas.

Thanks for joining us today, and for the Vuelta as a whole In terms of pure unpredictability, it’s been one of the most exciting Grand Tours in recent years, and has delivered great drama in terms of attacking racing, spectacular performances, and the daily fights for stage wins.

That's it for the Grand Tour season, but not the cycling season as a whole, with the smaller matter of the World Championships coming up in just over a week. Be sure to check out our comprehensive coverage of it, and all the other cycling taking place across the globe.

Hello and welcome to stage 20 of the Vuelta a España - the queen stage of this year's race.

Enric Mas might not have looked troubled throughout his whole time in the red jersey so far, but he hasn’t had to face anything like this all race. It’s a monstrous stage, with five mountains in total, three of them rated category one, and the last rated Hors category as the toughest of them all. It’s a hard enough stage to turn this Vuelta on its head, even at this late stage of the race. Anything could happen.

'It could upend the entire race' – Vuelta a España 2026 stage 20 preview: Will Enric Mas face a last-minute challenge on Sheriff's Hill?

Yesterday didn’t quite produce fireworks in the GC race, with attacks not coming until the final few kilometres, and everyone in the top five finishing at the top of the summit finish together. But today there surely will be, given the severity of the parcours, and the fact this is the last chance at this Vuelta before the final circuit stage in Granada.

Vuelta a España: Eddie Dunbar denies Santiago Buitrago with late pass on Peñas Blancas as Irishman claims stage 19 victory.

Today features more climbing than any other stage of this race by some distance. But as one merciful relief for the riders comes in the temperature, which is cooler than it was earlier in the race, in the early twenties rather than the thirties.

The riders are in the neutralised zone, and will be racing the Queen Stage soon. The first 40km are about as flat as this stage gets, and even they take place on rolling terrain. It’ll be a massive fight to get into the break, and only riders still feeling (relatively) strong after three weeks of racing will be able to get into it.

OFFICIAL START

And they're off! And its Wout van Aert who is among the first to kick things off, going on the attack with UAE's Oliveira. The pair have a gap of about ten seconds over the peloton, where more are trying moves.

All of the attacks from behind Van Aert and Oliveira have been neutralised, but the leading duo press on.

Does Van Aert have his eye on the King of the Mountains jersey? He's 38 points behind Santiago Buitrago after the Colombian's ride in the breakaway yesterday - but there are a total of 53 points to be won today.

While the battle for the break continues, Carlos Rodríguez has had to drop back to his team car to get a radio issue sorted out. This isn't the kind of day you want to be without radio communication for, as it's likely to be very chaotic.

That is indeed the case now, and multiple riders try to join Van Aert and Oliveira at the front of the race.

170KM TO GO

Adding to the complications of the day, there's also a bit of wind on the exposed section the peloton is riding through, and a group of about a dozen riders have used it to help et a gap on the peloton. Uno-X Mobility were the chief instigators, putting three men in the group.

The wind has caused a split in the peloton - and Mas has been caught out! Multiple Movistar teammates have dropped back to help pace him, but it's unclear for now whether he is in the same split as his GC rivals, or if they are in the group ahead.

Movistar have brought the front peloton back, which does appear it did contain Roglič. That's an early scare for Enric Mas, but one he has managed to see off.

Up ahead, the chase group instigated by Uno-X have caught Van Aert and Oliveira, and lead the reunified peloton by 18 seconds.

160KM TO GO

Actually, the chase group had not caught Van Aert and Oliveira - they're only doing so now.

Here was the pair right at the start of the day, when they broke clear of the peloton.

Uno-X Mobility have almost their entire roster in this breakaway, with six riders present, including their best climber Tobias Halland Johannessen. Cofidis also have two, as does Roglič's RedBull with Vermeersch and Fisher-Black. The Slovenian has satellite riders up the road, while Mas has none - he must be hatching a plan to make a move on the red jersey.

Are Movistar panicking?Having set a pace for a few kilometres, they’ve now fired a couple of riders up the road, Garcia Pierna and Romeo, in an attempt to bridge up to the break.

They must be feeling anxious at having nobody in the break especially as Roglič has a couple, but are also toeing up rival teammates Thornely (of Red Bull) and Shaw (of EF). But these are questionable tactics, and they could be burning off key domestiques very early.

150KM TO GO

The Movistar duo are still riding, and have picked up some riders between the peloton and the lead group on their way - including more EF and Red Bull teammates. They're committed to the move, and are desperate to make up the remaining 15 seconds they need to join the lead group.

CRASH - HAMILTON AND RICCITELLO

Two riders have gone down in the peloton. Riccitello is one of them, and thankfully for his team leader Gall, he's back on white bike. But Hamilton looks hurt, and will likely abandon the race.

Here's the group at the front, and there about to start climbing - up the first of five mountains on the menu today.

They lead the peloton by about 40 seconds, with the chase group behind led by Movistar somewhere in between.

140KM TO GO

The ploy isn't working for Movistar, as the chase group led by Romeo and García Pierna (and EF, who are contributing now) are failing to make up ground on the leaders, being kept at 35 seconds. The worst case scenario for Movistar is if the pair working burn themselves out trying to chase, but fail to bridge up to the lead group, and are then too tired to assist Mas later in the stage, potentially leaving him isolated and very outnumbered by Red Bull.

KOM - PUERTO DE LOS BLANCARES

The lead group crests the climb, with Buitrago's teammate Pau Miguel ensuring he takes the points ahead of Van Aert.

Buitrago is in the chase group behind, so will, like the Movistar pair in it, want to bridge up to the leaders. As do EF, who have a few domestiques helping Movistar lead the pace. There's plenty of investment in this group, but they're almost a minute behind.

There are no threats to GC in either of the groups ahead of the peloton, but plenty of domestiques of the favourites who could help swing the balance of power.

Roglič has two teammates in the lead group, and another two in the chase group; Mas has no teammates in the lead group, and two in the chase group; Gall one in the lead group and one in the chase group; Onley none in the lead group, two in the chase group; and finally Carapa has none in the lead group, but four in the chase group.

While the peloton has sat up and are happy to let both the lead group and the chase group have a gap, the lead group has not, and does not want the 30-or-so riders in the chase group to join them. They're keeping the pace high, and increasing their lead, to over one and a half minutes.

DNF - RICCITELLO

Despite initially getting up on his bike, Riccitello has abandoned the race following his crash. That's bad news for Gall, for whom he had become the main mountain domestique for, since Mühlberger's abandon earlier in the race.

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The gaps between the groups are getting bigger and bigger. The lead group is now three minutes ahead of the chase group (which is actually about 50 riders big), meaning they are unlikely to come together. But the peloton is over five minutes behind the chase group; so Movistar do look like they're going to get what they wanted, which was not the stage win, but rather teammates far enough up the road to act as satellite riders for Mas.

100KM TO GO

The riders are climbing again, this time up the first category one of the day. It's the Puerto de El Purche, and averages a brutal 8% for 8.2km.

The leaders have started it with a gap of 3:30 over the chasers and a huge ten minutes over the peloton.

This climb is starting to see the inferior climbers struggle, as Tiller and Vermeersch (one of Roglič's two teammates in the lead group) are dropped.

Meanwhile in the chase group (pictured), Movistar are setting the pace again, with García Pierna, Romeo and Castrillo.

ATTACK - KUSS

The peloton might be over eight minutes behind the chase group, but that hasn't stopped Sepp Kuss from attacking on the climb. Presumably his teammates up the road (of which there are four, plus Van Aert in the lead group) will drop back to pace him, in an attempt to propel him as high up the GC as possible.

Red Bull offered an interesting quote ahead of the stage today saying that they ‘won't interrupt’ anyone if they were to make a mistake during this tactically complicated stage, and that does indeed appear to be what they were doing when Movistar were panicking earlier.

But as the race has settled down, and the chase group built a big lead over the peloton, the Movistar ploy appears to have worked, and they’re back in control of the race. Can Red Bull and their leader Roglič contrive a way to put them under pressure, now that they no longer outnumber Movistar in terms or riders up the road?

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ATTACK - CARAPAZ

We thought it was coming at some point today, and it's happened already, on the first category one climb of the day with little more than 100km left to ride! It was an explosive move, and he's got a gap, while Decathlon respond by taking over the pace-setting in the peloton.

KOM - PUERTO DE EL PURCHE

Van Aert takes the points at the top of the climb, out-sprinting Buitrago's teammate Miguel. He's moved to within 26 points of Buitrago's point tally, and with the group so far behind, he's in with a chance of picking up enough points to take it from him.

Further down the mountains, Carapaz has joined Kuss, and 20 seconds behind the peloton is down to only eleven riders - and Mas is isolated. It's all happening on the road!

Decathlon are trying to control this Carapaz attack, but are finding it harder now their key climbing domestique Riccitello has had to pull out of the race. In fact, Gall himself is leading the chase as they summit the climb! Chaos is ensuing a the Vuelta a España

Gall sets a ferocious pace up the final kilometres of the climb, dropping everyone bar Roglič and Mas by the summit - and just about manages to bring back Carapaz and Kuss as they go over the top. Onley was dropped just before and is now having to chase as they begin the descent.

A couple of teammates have dropped back from the group ahead to help pace the group of favourites - Carapaz's Albanese, and Kuss' Brennan. Mas, Roglič and Gall are the other riders in the group, while Onley is losing ground, at 20 seconds.

70KM TO GO

MacKellar has also dropped back to the group of favourites, giving Carapaz another man to set the pace along with Albanese. As the longest valley section left on this stage, this is the ideal time for him to have teammates to set the pace, before they start climbing again in a few kilometres.

The move is further distancing Onley behind, who is in a perilous situation but does have Haig to help him, and is also potentially bringing the stage win back into play - the high pace since the Carapaz attack has seen the gap from this group to the leaders come down to about 8:40.

The riders have begun the second ascent of the Puerto de El Purche, the lead group 8:45 ahead of the group of favourites. The latter keeps picking up riders dropped from the groups ahead, most recently Kuss' teammate Kruijswijk, who is setting the pace.

This is a picture earlier from MacKellar, back when he was in the main chase group. He's since dropped back, and has just finished doing a long, important turn for Carapaz in the group of favourites.

They're putting a lot of time into the group behind, which contains Onley and Omrzel, which is now almost three minutes behind. This is good news especially for Kuss, who stands to shoot up the GC - potentially to as high as fifth overall, if the gap keep increasing at the rate they are.

ATTACK - KUSS

Kuss has gone again! His Visma teammate Kruijswijk had been setting the pace, but now the American has gone solo. There's a slowdown in the GC group, as their positions aren't under threat from Kuss.

Gall's teammate Sander De Pestel is the latest rider to drop back, and he's now setting the pace in the group of favourites. It's only a steady pace, though, and Kuss has already built a lead of 30 seconds over them.

KOM - PUERTO DE EL PURCHE (2ND ASCENT)

Van Aert picks up another ten points at the summit, despite a sprint and desperate lunge from Bahrain's Miguel. He's now left with just 16 points to make up on Van Aert, with ten available on the upcoming climb, and twenty on the final ascent to the finish. He's got a chance!

As for the stage win, for all the action behind, the lead group are still over eight minutes ahead of the group of favourites. That's mostly down to the work of Uno-X Mobility, who still have three men working for their elected man for the day, Johannessen.

ATTACK - CARAPAZ

Carapaz has made another move on the climb! He got a gap, but was brought back by Mas, Gall and Roglič.

With a few teammates still up the road in Shaw, Rafferty and Rodriguez, if he can get more of a gap with one of these attacks, he has support up the road to try and build a lead to make a move on the podium.

Most of today's stage has been defined by riders dropping back from out front to the peloton, but we've just had a big name join the front group from behind - Mikel Landa. The veteran has been quiet all Vuelta, but must be on flying form to make up so much ground. Could he claim what would be a romantic stage win?

For all the action today, the GC remains as you were, with one exception - Sepp Kuss, who is now all the way up to virtual fifth place. He's a long way away from moving further up, but has every chance of maintaining fifth, as Onley and the others are struggling behind without teammates, while Kuss still has Nordhagen and Armirail up the road to help him.

INTERMEDIATE SPRINT

Van Aert slips to the front of the group to add more points in the green jersey classification, but it's the mountain jersey he's after today. Thans to the pace set by Uno-X Mobility, his lead group is still 1:40 up on the Buitrago group, meaning he has a chance of gaining the jersey, if he can win the points at the top of the climb they're about to begin, and finish at last third on the summit finish.

If he can do it, Van Aert will become the first rider to win both the points and mountains classification at a Vuelta since María Jiménez in 2001.

40KM TO GO

The situation as they ride up the penultimate climb of the day, Puerto de El Duque (7.4km at 8.2%), is that the lead group of 8 (Van Aert, Johannessen, Kron, Dalby, Oliveira, Fisher-Black, Miguel and Landa) are about 6 minutes ahead of Kuss, with many riders in between, and Kuss is 2:30 ahead of the red jersey group (now containing Mas, Roglič, Gall, Carapaz), and 5 minutes ahead of Onley and Omrzel.

There are more changes on the road: Buitrago has been dropped, and is back in the red jersey group, meaning the defence of his King of the Mountains is now out of his hands, and dependent on Van Aert not claiming enough points.

García Pierna is now fulfilling the role he worked so hard earlier in the day to be able to do, and has dropped back to the red jersey group to assist Mas. And ahead, Debruyne has joined Landa in making the juncture from the chase group behind to the lead group.

All change in the front group on the ultra-steep gradients of Puerto de El Duque! Landa, Johannessen and Debruyne have gone clear of the rest - including Van Aert, who looks set to lose out on the mountains jersey after all.

And back in the group of favourites, Red Bull have some teammates (Vermeersch and Thornley) who have dropped back, and are setting the pace for Roglič on the run-in to the final climb. Could this be where he makes his move on the red jersey?

For unbeatable coverage across road, gravel and tech, subscribe to Cyclingnews. You'll get comprehensive race coverage of La Vuelta a España, subscriber-exclusive analysis from our expert columnists, in-depth features and industry-leading tech insight. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! Join today.

Roglič has already burned through his teammates, and is now leading the group instead. It's not an attack, but he's trying to ride a tempo to make Mas uncomfortable. The GC race is on!

Carapaz has a new teammate with him to set the pace on the climb, Juan Felipe Rodriguez, and he's reduced the group to just themselves, Mas, Gall and Roglič. Roglič appears to be struggling, and is has let the smallest of gaps open up between himself and the others on the steep gradients.

Carapaz has tried a couple of attacks the last kilometre or so, but neither were as vicious as earlier. After the first Rodriguez bridged back up to them, and set up a second Carapaz attack, but he again did not succeed in dropping Mas, Gall and Roglič, who are all now riding together.

KOM - PUERTO DE EL DUQUE

Landa leads the trio of himself, Debruyne and Johannessen which means Buitrago is now poised to win the KOM jersey, with Van Aert not among the top points.

Further down the mountain, the GC riders are playing games with each other, watching each other and riding slowly rather than working together. Gall and Carapaz briefly let a gap grow to the others, but bridged it back. They're calling Mas' bluff - he needs to ride at some point to defend the red jersey from Kuss, who is getting a bigger and bigger gap out front.

Carapaz attacks again, not once but twice, after Rodriguez set him up by increasing the pace again. He might be getting worried about his fourth place on GC, which is coming under pressure from Kuss. Kuss is now almost five minutes ahead of them up the road, which is most of the 5:47 he needs to overtake Carapaz on GC.

Another of Mas’ teammates up the road, Romeo, has dropped back to the red jersey group and set the pace, controlling it and bringing order after Carapaz’s attacks and leading them over the summit.

It might have been a chaotic start, but Movistar have once again ended up playing a tactically astute game, and have things under control - they also have Castrillo up the road for once last teammate to drop back if needed, with just one more climb left to complete.

One thing that's looking increasingly likely as they approach the final climb is that the stage win will go to one of Landa, Debruyne or Johannessen. They're five minutes ahead of Kuss and 9:40 ahead of the red jersey group, though face more direct threat from Miguel, who is only 30 seconds behind.

10KM TO GO

James Shaw is the latest of the apparently infinite number of riders to drop back from the groups in front, and set a pace for Carapaz in the red jersey group. That'll help him defend fourth place from Sepp Kuss (pictured), who now has Van Aert with him and has built a huge lead of 5:30 - nearly enough to overtake Carapaz on GC.

COLLADO DEL ALGUCIL

Here we go - the three leaders have started climbing the Collado del Alguacil, which with an average of 9.8%(!) for 8.4km, is the hardest of the entire Vuelta.

The red jersey group will start it in about nine minute time, when they arrive at the foot.

Landa is pressing on, and has managed to drop Debruyne. It's now the Spaniard and Johannessen at the front - and Landa is trying to drop him too, with another attack. And he's got a small gap...

Landa has indeed put distance into Johannessen! He now leads the race and appears to be riding to victory, though there are 6 very hard kilometres still to climb.

Behind, Van Aert is finished, leaving Kuss to have to pace for himself, but with a big lead of about five and a half minutes over the red jersey group.

In the red jersey group, Mas' teammate Romeo has been dropped, and Roglič's teammate Finn Fisher-Black is setting the pace on the lower slopes of the mountain. It's not a hard enough pace to put Mas under pressure, though.

Landa is alone in front, and building his lead! Johannessen isn't giving up though, and is still in contention at thirteen seconds behind.

In the red jersey group, Mas has help again with Castrillo having dropped back, and now he sets the pace.

Still Castrillo leads the red jersey group. This is looking very good for Mas, and no attacks are forthcoming from his rivals in the group, with the kilometres running out.

Kuss now has Nordhagen to help pace him, and is over four minutes ahead of the red jersey group. He doesn't look set to gain enough time to move into the top four, but fifth place is surely his.

ATTACK - GALL

As Castrillo finishes his turn, Gall tries an attack for the first time today - and its an effective one! He's dropped everyone besides Mas. The Austrian needs 1:24 to take over Roglič in second place on GC.

Gall has now gapped Mas, by a few seconds! It's too little too late if he had designs on the red jersey, though - or the stage win, which Landa is 500m away from sealing.

LANDA WINS

Mikel Landa solos to the top of the mountain, to take a beautiful victory! It's his first for years, and a wonderful moment for a rider who has had a really difficult season.

Johannessen takes second, and Debruyne third, to complete the podium for the stage.

Behind, Mas is in the rare position of having been dropped, and Gall is growing his lead. But he's not going to gain the 3:01 he needs to overtake him at the top of the GC.

Kuss has just finished, with his teammate Norhagen. He has surely done enough to move up to 5th on GC - what a final stage for the American, who started it in 11th.

Now Gall finishes, but Mas has him in his sights, and will finish just a few seconds behind.

The big question is: where is Roglič? And can he defend his second-place on GC from Gall?

Roglič finishes, and has indeed done enough to maintain his second overall. And shortly after so does Richard Carapaz, in time to defend his fourth place on GC from Sepp Kuss.

The headline story though is of course, that Enric Mas has all but won the Vuelta a España!

What a day for Mikel Landa. Remarkably, he hadn't won a race of any kind for over five years, and not at Grand Tour level for almost a decade. That was a comprehensive rebuttal of anyone who has written him off.

Landa might be considered the best GC rider in the world not to have won a Grand Tour - a label he had shared with Enric Mas.

But not any more! After another brilliant performance in the mountains, from both himself and his Movistar team, Mas looks set to wrap up overall victory in Granada tomorrow, with an increased lead of 2:15 over Primož Roglič in second.

After his impressive attack on the final, we can’t help but wonder what might have been if Gall had attacked earlier in the stage. As Sepp Kuss demonstrated, the race was chaotic enough to potentially make big gains on GC, if gaps were opened up earlier; perhaps if he had worked with Carapaz when he was making his earlier attacks, rather than rae to defend against him, he might have been able to at least put Mas under pressure.

Instead, he only gained a handful of seconds on the red jersey, and not enough either on Roglič to move up to second place. As impressive as third place at the Vuelta is, it might have been more with a more aggressive and ambitious approach.

One of the sub-plots of the way was Van Aert's attempt to win the King of the Mountains ahead of Santiago Buitrago. Ultimately he didn't quite have the climbing legs, but will still win the points classification if he finishes tomorrow's final stage.

Thanks for joining us today, for what was a magnificent stage for Spanish cycling. Not only did Mikel Landa enjoy one of the best day's of his long career, claiming the queen stage of the race with a magnificent ride, but Enric Mas all but sealed the nation's first home overall victory at the Vuelta since 2014. These two riders have endured their fair share of hardships over the years, but every dog has its day, and both enjoyed just that on stage 20.

Be sure to join us again tomorrow, where Mas will enjoy his victory lap as champion of the Vuelta, and the best stage-hunters of the race will do battle for one more win on what looks like a thrilling circuit on the streets of Granada.

Hello and welcome to stage 19 of the Vuelta a España!

There was a sense after yesterday’s time trial that Enric Mas had passed the all-important test at yesterday’s time trial, holding off the challenge by Primož Roglič in a discipline he excels less at with a healthy lead at the top of the classification still intact

However, this race is far from over - and today’s parcours is prime territory for an ambush. As one of the few to exceed 200km , and with plenty of climbing along the way, including a summit finish, both he and his Movistar team must be alert, and again need to rise to the occasion.

Vuelta a España 2026 stage 19 preview - Roads rising above Costa del Sol offer hunting grounds for breakaway riders and GC gains

The riders are in the neutralised zone, but one rider not among them is yesterday’s winner Stefan Küng. That victory made it mission accomplished at this Vuelta for the Swiss time trialist specialist, as well as delivering his Tudor team a second victory following Marco Brenner’s success - a fantastic return for one of the race’s smaller teams.

The morning after winning the time trial, Stefan Küng pulls out of the Vuelta a España

OFFICIAL START

And they're off! The first third of this flat stage is flat, so it could take a while for a break to form. The riders best brace themselves for a long battle.

The attacks are, as expected, coming thick and fast! For the time being we have a group of eight up the road by a few seconds but the situation is very much in flux.

Here were the riders at the start, before hostilities began.

Hannes Wilksch and Mats Wenzel were the latest to try a move, but, along with a flurry of poursuivants, have all be swept up back into the peloton.

The latter's Equipo Kern Pharma is especially eager for some success today, given the doubt surrounding their future as they continue to seek a new sponsor.

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There have been plenty of attacks, but still nothing sticking, an 8-man group the latest to try to no avail. This looks set to go on for a while longer yet.

DNF - PAUL DOUBLE

Paul Double has abandoned the race. There's been no crash we're aware of, but the Brit has been struggling at this Vuelta, and was second-to-last at the bottom of the GC. Hard-going for a man whois primarily a climber.

Jasha Sütterlin, stage winner Andreas Leknessund and soon-to-retire Steven Kruijswijk are the latest to try an attack. It's great to see the latter on the move and having some fun for himself, having done so much tireless work at the front of this Vuelta controlling the race for his Visma teammates Wout van Aert and Matthew Brennan. What a story it would be if he could take a stage win on the last Grand Tour of his career.

170KM TO GO

After 40km of attacking, this trio of Leknessund, Kruijswijk and Sütterlin is the first to manage to stay out for some time and build a promising lead. They've got 25 seconds as things stand.

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Leknessund, Kruijswijk and Sütterlin are still leading, now 45 seconds up on the peloton. In between, some chasers are trying to join them. The fight is still on an the intensity remains high.

There is plenty of firepower in the chase group trying to join Leknessund, Kruijswijk and Sütterlin. Oliveira, Johannessen, Tronchon and Weiss have formed a quartet, and are now just 10 seconds behind, and 30 seconds ahead of the peloton, where things still haven't settled down.

Oliveira, Tronchon, and Johannessen (but not Weiess - he's dropped back) have now bridged up to Leknessund, Kruijswijk and Sütterlin, but the new front group are only a mere 20 seconds ahead of the peloton. It seems like there is enough in the peloton unhappy with the situation to not allow them to form the day's break.

The irrepressible Kevin Vermaerke is on the attack again. Aware that he's a superior climber, his UAE teammate Oliveira dropped back to pace him, and the duo have just joined the five leaders. Together, they're now 35 seconds ahead of the peloton.

140KM TO GO

This leading group of seven is working well together, and have built a lead of 47 - which must be the biggest gap any group has managed all day so far.

The action is still very on in the peloton, where the attacks keep coming, and promises to continue to do so when they reach the day's first climb in just a few kilometres.

The riders are on the Puerto de las Abejas, the first of the day's three climbs. It's not the hardest of the day, averaging just 4.3%, but its length of 14.6km will ensure that climbers who want to get into the break have a chance.

One such rider is Santiago Buitrago, who Pello Bilbao attempted to launch up the road, but he has managed to go clear of the peloton yet. As it stands, there are 30 seconds between them in the peloton and the seven leaders up the road.

130KM TO GO

The constant action at the front of the peloton as more riders try to escape to join the break on the climb is keeping the lead group (picture below, although it's now made up of seven riders, since Sütterlin was dropped) well within sight. They're just a few seconds ahead, and the battle to form the break is far from over.

Vimsa-Lease a Bike are hatching a plan for Sepp Kuss. Kruijswijk dropped back from the front group to help pace him up after attacking from the peloton. So far, though, he hasn't been able to join up to the leaders; nor has anyone else in the peloton, which remains 10 seconds behind the leaders as they climb the final 5km to the summit.

A few riders have managed to join the leaders - Zana, Van Bekkum and Faura. Plus Eddie Dunbar, who bridged up earlier. While the break and the peloton remain so close on the road, the race is very much in flux.

KOM - PUERTO DE LAS ABEJAS

Leknessund led the lead group over the top of the climb, and since then they have been joined by a group of chasers. Briefly it looked as though Oscar Onley might be join, too, as he tried a cheeky attack, but the Brit (who is 5th on GC) did not manage to slip clear.

As they descend, the leaders are 20 seconds ahead of the peloton).

This has been a truly relentless start to the stage, but there are signs, at last, that things might be about to calm down. For the first time all day, the peloton bunched up at the front, an indication that many are wanting to let the break go clear.

But there are still some unhappy and wanting to join the leaders up the road, and another flurry of attacks begins.

110KM TO GO

We're almost halfway into the stage, and the race has just all come back together! Numerous riders had joined the lead group, to swell it to about 20 riders, but Netcompany Ineos paced at the front of the peloton to bring it back. The peloton is much smaller now as a result of how high the pace has been, but as things stand, there is no breakaway group.

So the action has re-set, and a new wave of attacks have come as riders try to form a new break. This has gone on for over 100km now - surely the longest battle to form a break at this Vuelta, and possible of the whole season.

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The riders have been climbing the category two Puerto del Viento (the penultimate climb of the day; officially, at least), and Eddie Dunbar had managed to build a bit of a lead. He's being chased down by another group of hopefuls, among whom include the King of the Mountains Santiago Buitrago.

KOM - PUERTO DEL VIENTO

Dunbar continues to lead the race over the top of the climb, and so takes the KOM points. Behind follows a chase group of about 20 riders, about 15 seconds behind, including Buitrago.

It's looking more promising for that group to join up to Dunbar and (finally) form the break of the day, as the peloton is about a minute adrift. But things still haven't settled, and more attacks come out of it as they near the summit.

ATTACK - CARAPAZ

Richard Carapaz is at it again! The man in fourth-place on GC has used the descent of the climb to try and catch his rivals napping, and is part of small group that has a gap of a few seconds over the peloton. He's 5:17 down on Mas, but not the kind of man he can afford to give too much leeway to.

You sense EF have been hatching a plan all day, having been active at the front, and as one of the teams especially keen not to let the early breaks go clear.

They've now succeeded in getting Carapaz up the road, but will be frustrated that their GC rivals are on the defensive - at the front of the peloton, Movistar are receiving help from Decathlon and Netcompany.

Decathlon are doing the bulk of the chasing at the front of the peloton, rather than Mas’ Movistar, and have sent Sander De Pestel from the lead group to help the pace-setting.

This is in defence of their leader Gall’s third place on GC, and it’s an undeniably defensive tactic - if they were being bolder, and intended to try to put Mas under pressure, they could have forced him to use up his Movistar teammates to bring Carapaz back, and then try to put the isolated red jersey under pressure with attacks.

Carapaz's venture is over, as the peloton bring him back. His group managed to get a lead of about 30 seconds, but his GC rivals were not happy to let him build upon that.

That means there's only one group now ahead of the peloton - a lead group of about 15 riders, about 1:30 ahead, and featuring Buitrago, and G Martin (who, in 13th, i the highest placed man on GC in it).

80KM TO GO

Things have, at long last, settled down. Ever since bringing back the Carapaz chase group, the peloton has slowed down, allowing the lead group of 16 riders to build a lead of 2:30. We at last have a clear break of the day.

The problem is, they don't have very long to build enough of a lead to hold off the chase from the peloton later on, with just 60km left to ride until arriving at the foot of the final climb. The break will have to work well to give themselves a chance of making it to the finish to contest for the stage win.

If this breakaway is to succeed, it will be the first stage since last Thursday will be won from a rider not representing either Visma-Lease a Bike or Tudor Pro Cycling, who have enjoyed a sweep of wins lately with their respective men Wout van Aert and Matthew Brennan, and Marco Brenner and Stefan Küng. Both teams failed to get anyone in the break today.

Both Pinarello and Groupama-FDJ (save for Tronchon’s stage win) have been quiet for most of this Vuelta, but are doing a great job today, having each got three riders into the breakaway. Also with multiple riders in it are Equipo Kern Pharma and Bahrain-Victorious with two each.

Movistar have implemented the same plan that has served them so well since Enric Mas took the red jersey, putting Pablo Castrillo up the road as a satellite rider for later on. The remainder of their roster are setting the pace at the front of the peloton, with assistance from Onley’s Netompany Ineos team.

Mas and Movistar again look firmly in control, after a very successful time trial yesterday. Mas is clearly feeling very confident, and not holding back talking about what great shape he’s in.

'It wasn't my best time trial' - Enric Mas plays down superb TT performance that clears road for overall Vuelta a España victory

60KM TO GO

Not fussed about the stage win, and instead focussed on defending the red jersey, Movistar are happy to set a light tempo and allow the break a big lead approaching five minutes.

What will Felix Gall do today? He lost his 2nd place on GC to Primož Roglič on yesterday’s time trial, and was put on the defensive again earlier in the stage when the man directly behind him on GC, Richard Carapaz, went on the attack.

We’re approaching his territory again, with a big summit finish at the end of this stage. With 1:24 to make up to take second place back from Roglič again ,we can expect him to make an attack.

Yesterday felt like Primož Roglič’s big chance to make a move on to challenge Enric Mas, but though he didn’t make the kind of inroads many expected of him, that does not mean his bid for the red jersey is over.

Roglič has revealed that time trialling has not been a focus of his lately; which would imply that we shouldn’t read too much into his climbing form based on his time trialling form. He’s still got the ability, know-how and desire to put Mas under pressure on today’s final climb.

'The last year I don't think we've done a single aero test' – Why time trials are no longer a major focus for Primož Roglič and why the Vuelta TT did not go as Red Bull predicted

40KM TO GO

The riders have reached the bottom of the downhill they've been descending, and now must ride about 20km of valley road before arriving at the foot of the final climb of Peñas Blancas.

The break's lead has been held at 4:45, which is a healthy one, but not enough to guarantee that the stage winner will come from one of them.

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30KM TO GO

The break have done a great job on this valley section, and increased their lead to over 6 and a half minutes. It does now look as though they will survive to fight for the stage win.

So who from the break looks the most likely to win the stage?

Guillaume Martin is the best-placed on GC, but could find himself prioritising making as many gains as possible rather than engaging in the tactical battle to win the stage - a situation he regularly finds himself in, having not taken a stage win yet in any of his many Grand Tour appearances.

Leknessund certainly has the know-how, having taken a stage already earlier in the Vuelta; as does Eddie Dunbar, who claimed a couple at the Vuelta two years ago. The difficulty of the climb could suit him more than it does Leknessund.

And as King of the Mountains, Buitrago is a prominent presence who ought to do well on such a finish, and is seeking a first Vuelta stage win having previously won twice at the Giro.

PENAS BLANCAS

The riders are onto the final climb of the day! It officially climbs at 6.5% for 18.8km, but that average gradient takes into account some much gentler segments - there actual climb is far harder than those stats make it sound. It's long and enough and has sections that are steep enough to cause big time losses for anyone dropped early.

This is set to be a thrilling fight for the stage win, and a dramatic one in the race for GC.

There's an early attack on the climb in the breakaway group, as Molard tries to get up the road; possibly as a satellite rider for Martin. He's dangling a few seconds ahead of the rest.

In the peloton, it's Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe who are leading on the lower slopes. They must have something planned for Primož Roglič.

Molard has been brought back after his attack, and the break remains all together. That won't last, once the gradient kicks up and the climb starts to get serious.

Meanwhile in the peloton, it's still Red Bull leading, showing impressive strength in numbers.

ATTACK - BUITRAGO

After a long turn from his teammate Miguel, Buitrago has attacked from the breakaway group. So far only two riders have gone with him - Gloag, and, a few bike-lengths behind, Dunbar.

Red Bull are trying to put him under pressure, but for now Mas remains comfortable in the peloton.

Up ahead in the break, Berrade has joined the leading trio, while Castrillo is also trying to bridge up to them - he's clearly been given some freedom to ride for himself today. Movistar must be feeling confidant.

10KM TO GO

Red Bull still lead the peloton with numerous riders, but the pace isn't especially high as reflected by the large number of riders still in the peloton.

The break is also managing to hold a big lead over them, with an advantage now over seven minutes. If it wasn't already beyond doubt that they would contest the stage, it now surely is.

A change in the peloton, as Movistar take over from Red Bull. They still have two teammates (Garcia Pierna and Romeo) to work for Mas, with Castrillo also up the road in reserve.

Castrillo is also now losing ground to the leaders, and has been caught and passed by both Leknessund and Camprubí. His hopes of winning a stage are disappearing, so he may be called back by his team.

Still no attacks from the peloton, but there is no a change at the front as EF take over. That suggests Carapaz is going to try something, having failed with an attack earlier.

There are still about 20 riders in the peloton, but not among them is Skjelmose, who has just been dropped. He's set to fall further down the GC, having dropped to eighth yesterday.

2KM TO GO

At the front, it's still the same four riders together - Buitrago, Gloag, Berrade and Dunbar. None of them have attacked each other yet, but will have to soon as the summit nears.

ATTACK - BUITRAGO

Moments after that post, Buitrago attacked - and it's a deadly one! He's got a gap of ten seconds already, and looks very strong. Could this be the stage-winning move?

1KM TO GO

Dunbar is trying to chase Buitrago by himself, but still has ten seconds to make up as he goes under the flamme rouge.

In the peloton, EF's Rodriguez has finished his long turn, but no attack has come yet from his teammate Carapaz.

Dunbar has closed in on Buitrago and caught him with less than 500m to ride...and now he goes straight past him! It looks like Dunbar is riding to victory.

EDDIE DUNBAR WINS

The Irishman has done it, soloing the final few hundred metres to take the stage win. Buitrago comes home about 15 seconds later, with the consolation prize of a second-place finish and some more points in his KOM defence.

ATTACK - ROGLIC

And now Roglič makes his move! It's not an especially explosive one, though, and Mas, Onley, Gall and Carapaz can all follow him.

Omrzel managed to claw his way back to the group, and the pace is slow enough for him to attack out of it. There's a stalemate in the group of favourites as they enter the final kilometre.

Mas takes control for the final metres of the climb to bring Omrzel back, and then Carapaz leads them over the finish line in the final sprint. Nothing separates the top GC favourites at the line, so it's as you were going into tomorrow's final mountain stage.

The winner today, Eddie Dunbar!

He was in defensive mode rather than aggressive today, but that was another day successfully navigated for Enric Mas. He didn't look under any pressure all day, and despite a lot of threats to attack in the GC group on the final climb, a move only came inside the final 2km from Primož Roglič, which he was able to answer.

At the end of a long, epic stage of the Vuelta, which witnessed the longest battle to get into the break we've seen so far at the race, it was Eddie Dunbar who ultimately came out on top.

The GC race didn't see much movement, with the top five coming home together, and just the one change in the GC as Skjelmose and Rodríguez swapped places. Have a read of our full report here.

Vuelta a España: Eddie Dunbar denies Santiago Buitrago with late pass on Peñas Blancas as Irishman claims stage 19 victory

Thanks for joining us today! Enric Mas managed to make it through today unscathed, but tomorrow could be another matter. It's the queen stage of the race, featuring a whopping 5,000m elevation gain across five mountains, including a huge summit finish to Collado del Alguacil.

As brilliant as Mas has been so far throughout this Vuelta, this stage is potentially hard to break anyone. It's set to be a thriller, and could throw some real twists in the GC action; and, once again, we'll bring you all the action from start to finish on Cyclingnews.

Vuelta a España 2026 stage 20 preview

Hello and welcome to stage 18 of the Vuelta a España.

Today might just be the biggest day in the career of Enric Mas. A pro for ten years, the Spaniard has been one of the best climbers in the peloton for most of that time, but has never quite managed to deliver the big result that matches his talents.

Now, with just four more stages left to complete, he’s on the verge of taking one of the biggest prizes there is in cycling (especially for a Spaniard) - the Vuelta a España. But to do so, he can’t just rely on his climbing, but will today need to call up on his more limited time trialling skills.

The man looking to depose Enric Mas from the top of the classification is Primož Roglič. While Mas has never won a race of this calibre before, Roglič has made a career of doing so; rather than hunting his first ever Vuelta title, he instead is looking to break the record for the most ever.

As an elite time trialist, this is the day he has been waiting for to make a move on the red jersey, and will hope he can make Mas crack under the considerable pressure he is under.

It’s a flat course, and therefore one that should help the better time trialists among the GC contenders (ie, Roglič) maximise their time gain, while also giving the specialists further down the ranking a great shot at winning the stage. Have a read of our full preview here.

Vuelta a España 2026 stage 18 preview – Can Primož Roglič produce vintage time trial performance to maximise pressure on Enric Mas in race for red jersey?

Mathias Sunekær Norsgaard will be the rider to get us underway in just a few minutes after which the riders will set off at one minute intervals, until we reach the top twenty on GC, from which point they’ll set off every two minutes; Enric Mas in the red jersey will be the last to start, at 16:55 local time.

Vuelta a España 2026: Stage 18 time trial start times

OFFICIAL START

And they're off! Mathias Sunekær Norsgaard rolls off the start ramp to get this crucial, potentially race-defining time trial underway.

One of the favourites it also one of the first riders to set off - Ethan Hayter. The Brit was one of the protagonists of the first week of the race, starting with an agonising second-place finish behind Tadej Pogačar in the opening stage time trial.

He's struggled since then, as evidenced by how far down he is on the GC, but if he's well-rested and feeling fresh for this time trial, he's one of the favourites for the stage.

Another contender for the stage has just begun, and it's another Brit - Callum Thornley. The 23-year-old was fourth in the opening stage, and as well as taking notes for teammate Primož Roglič, he'll also be going all in for himself to set the fastest possible time.

Today's stage is held in El Puerto de Santa María, where the riders are setting off in turn from the town's bull ring. It's making for a spectacular backdrop.

Thornley has just gone through the first time check, and he's the quickest so far - 19 seconds quicker than his compatriot Hayter. They're both going for it, and are a long way up on the rest of the field. Theirs is the fight to be the early pace-setter, and so far Thornley is winning it.

Oscar Chamberlain, who was seventh on the opening stage time trial, is on the course, but is a little down at the first time check, 27 seconds slower than Thornley and 8 seconds slower than Hayter.

Meanwhile Hayter is currently the quickest at the second time check - but Thornley is yet to pass through it.

Hayter has just arrived at the finish with a time of 35:54, having passed a few of the minute men who started before him.

He's in the hot seat - but may not want to make himself too comfortable, as Thornley is still looking good to beat his time. At the second time check he retained his lead over Hayter, posting a time 23 seconds quicker.

NEW FASTEST TIME - CALLUM THORNLEY

Thornley maintains his pace all the way until the finish, and has put 29 seconds into Hayter. That could put him in the hot seat for sometime.

That said, seasoned time trialist Ivo Oliveira is out on the course now and looking good, just 7 seconds down on Thornley at the first check. Watch this space.

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The winner of both the previous two stages, Matthew Brennan, has started his ride. He won't be making it a hat-trick today, and will be taking it easier around the course, but whatever happens he's astounded with his performances at this Vuelta. His Visma-Lease a Bike has enjoyed great success in Grand Tours over the years, but this is their most prolific in history.

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Ivo Oliveira has just posted the second fastest time at the finish, but he's a long way off Thornley's time, who was 27 seconds faster.

The Scotsman's next threat looks set to come from Xabier Mikel Azparren, who has posted a time at the first check that's just 5 seconds slower.

There's just over an hour and a half to go until Enric Mas sets off for the most important time trial of his life. He's trying not to worry about how other people will ride, but focus instead on delivering the fastest time that he is capable of.

'I'll have to bring out the best version of Enric' - Vuelta a España leader Mas focused on his own performance in key time trial on Thursday

João Almeida appears to have found some form! He's just become the first man to post a time quicker than Thornley at the first time check, albeit by just the two seconds. As a man who knows how to pace himself, you'd back him to go on to set the best time at the finish.

Roglič might be the better time trialist than Mas, so much so that he has beaten him in all 22 of the stages they’ve competed in throughout their careers; but, looking back over all those previous results, Mas has reason to be optimistic. In none of those past stages has he lost as much as 2:10 to the Slovenian, which is all he needs to defend today in order to protect the red jersey.

That said, at 32.1km, this is a longer time trial than most of those 22. Here is how much time he’s lost in every previous time trial the two have competed in that were over 30km.

2025 Tour de France: 1:38 (33km)

2022 Vuelta a España: 1:04 (31km)

2022 Dauphine: 1:11 (32km)

2021 Vuelta a España: 2:04 (34km)

2020 Vuelta a España: 1:43 (34km)

2020 Tour de France: 0-49 (36.2km)

Before the GC race gets going, there’s a stage win to be won, and a couple of top favourites have just begun their rides - Bruno Armirail, and Stefan Küng. Both these riders have spent most of this Vuelta waiting for today, and have rolled off the ramp with the look of men on a mission.

João Almeida has finished his ride - and he's narrowly slower than Thornley! Having been 2 seconds up at the first check, and on the same time at the second, the Portuguese slowed in relation to the leader and must settle for second at the clubhouse, 6 seconds down.

Stefan Küng is looking good, arriving at the first time check one second up on Thornley, though Armirail is further down, 10 seconds slower.

Thornely is coming under pressure from all angles now. Having been 7 seconds down at the first check, Finn Fisher-Black is a mere 1 seconds off at the second; and another major candidate for the stage win, Wout van Aert, have just begun.

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Fisher-Black has just finished, and he slowed down in the final third, fading to third place behind Almeida and his teammate Thornely.

Still, that means there are two Red Bull riders in the top three, which bodes well for their team leader Primož Roglič. The word among them going into today's stage is that he believes he can win the red jersey.

'Primož knows he's still got a chance to win it' - Roglič's teammates at Vuelta a España say Slovenian remains upbeat before looming final GC battle

Stefan Küng is absolutely flying! He's done a scintillating second third of the route, and is a whole ten seconds faster than Thornley. He's putting his all into it, to, and nearly overshot a corner. He'll be at the finish soon, so we'll know soon if he's going to maintain this speed...

NEW FASTEST TIME - STEFAN KUNG

Küng has done it...just! He slowed a little in relation to Thornley in the final phase, but still had two seconds to spare once he got to the finish.

Could the Swiss rider be on the brink of claiming the second Grand Tour stage of his career? So far things are looking good, as rival Van Aert is a substantial 8 seconds slower at the second check.

We're getting near to the GC riders. 20th on GC (and King of the Mountains) Santiago Buitrago has just started, and the riders have started setting off in two minute intervals.

Van Aert is at the finish...and he's slower than Küng. He slowed down a lot towards the end, and must settle for fourth place.

He was one of the few riders left who could realistically challenge the Swiss rider. Unless Roglič can better, he might be poised to take the stage win.

It's only been two years since Stefan Küng won a Vuelta time trial, his first at Grand Tour level after a career of frustrations and near misses. Could he be on the brink of adding a second?

We're now into the top ten, with Sepp Kuss starting his ride. This is where the riders have serious positions on GC that they will want to defend - no holding back from anyone from here on in.

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Mattias Skjelmose has just started. As well as Roglič, he's the other member of the GC top ten who's an elite time trialist. He'll hope to move from his seventh place today, potentially as high as fifth if he has a really good day.

Oscar Onley is off. Carapaz’s fourth-place is a distant 1:20 ahead of him, so he might be looking over his shoulder instead at Jakob Omrzel in sixth, who is just 30 seconds behind and will also have his eye on the white jersey.

'You want to show why the team invested in you' – After crashes and stomach bug, gritty Oscar Onley looks to confirm GC top five and white jersey at Vuelta a España

Here we go then, Primož Roglič is off, to a big cheer from the crowd! He’s already won 15 stages at the Vuelta in his career, and may need to win another if he’s to gain the time he needs to depose Enric Mas at the top.

There is one rider starting in between Roglič and Mas: Felix Gall, who has historically struggled against the clock. The Austrian has just started his ride, and is expected to lose the slender four second lead he has over the former, but will want to ride as strong a time as possible to keep himself in with a shot of the red jersey going into the final climbing stages.

And that’s it - now Mas starts, every rider is either on the road or already finished. Red always feels like a dangerous colour to wear on a bullring where this time trial route sets out from, and indeed he is a target today for Primož Roglič. But he looks calm on the ramp as he begins the most important time trial of his career.

Skjelmose i through the first check, and he's not quite as quick as anticipated, setting the 22nd best time there. But he's still 10 seconds faster than Omrzel, so is in the running to take his 6th place on GC.

Onley is going well, the quickest of the top ten so far at the first check, and the 14th quickest of anyone all day. His white jersey and 5th place are looking safe therefore, but he's still got a lot of ground to make up on Carapaz in 4th, who was just 10 seconds slower than him at the check.

The top three riders are through the first check, and Roglič is making gains - but not at the rate needed to take red! He’s put 21 seconds into Mas at the first split, and 22 into Gall. So far it’s looking OK for Mas, who is being roared along by fans on the roadside.

All the riders up to fourth overall have gone through the second time check. There's set to be no changes in the top ten as things stand, with Onley the quickest of all of them so far, building a lead over Omrzel and Skjelmose, but not enough to challenge Carapaz, who is limiting his losses to him to 21 seconds for now.

Roglič is through the second check with the 6th fastest time of the day, almost a minute quicker than Gall. That's easily enough for the Slovenian to take second-place, but he isn't quite having the sublime day needed to really put Mas under pressure.

Mas is through the second time check...and he's 36 seconds slower than Roglič. At this rate he will still be wearing the red jersey on the podium tonight, and still with a decent buffer, too.

Meanwhile Skjelmose has reached the finish, with the 22nd fastest time of the day.

Onley has finished, and it's a very good time - the 11th best of the day so far, 1:15 slower than Küng. That'll see him extend his lead over Omrzel, and keep the white jersey on his shoulders.

Roglič is giving it his all, coming out of the saddle sometimes to try to find extra reserves of strength to find what he needs to defeat Mas. But it doesn't appear likely to be enough - he arrives at the finish with the 4th fastest time, 19 seconds slower than Küng.

Gall finishes his ride, 1:47 down on Küng, meaning he loses his second place on GC to Roglič. It's not a bad time by his standards, though - only two seconds slower than Carapaz, in fact, so he'll remain in third place with a big buffer.

MAS DEFENDS RED, KUNG WINS

Enric Mas finishes, to a mighty roar from his home fans. And he's lived up to the occasion! He finishes with the 12th best time of the day, losing little more than half a minute to Roglič. So he'll remain on top of the GC with a lead still in excess of 1:30. The Vuelta's is his to lose.

All that also means Stefan Küng has won the stage, a huge day in his career, in which he matches the biggest win of his career, from the Vuelta two years ago.

1:37 is Mas' lead over Roglič as a result of this time trial, and an even healthier 3:01 over Gall, 5:17 over Carapaz and 6:03 over Onley. He'll still come under pressure in the upcoming mountain stages, and will need his Movistar team to protect him against attacks from those riders, but today confirms him as the clear favourite to the win the red jersey.

A look at the results suggest that Felix Gall is the big loser of the day, as they only man in the top six on GC to fall down the rankings.

But given that he was always expected to lose ground to Roglič, he might be relatively pleased with how he managed to limit his losses, and is still within striking distance of taking is second place back, if he climbs as well as he has been in the upcoming couple of mountain stages.

Thanks for joining us today. Enric Mas looked more like a prospective leader than he has at any point so far at this Vuelta, and is now, having overcome his biggest challenge, on the cusp of sealing the red jersey.

It's not over yet, though. There are a lot of quality riders behind him on GC, and, as a mixture of seasoned champions (Roglič), quality climbers (Gall) and irrepressible attackers (Carapaz), he is sure to come under attack in the upcoming mountain stages - starting with tomorrow. So be sure to tune in again for stage 19, where this thrilling race for the red jersey will continue.

Hello and welcome to stage 17 of the Vuelta a España!

Following yesterday's bunch sprint finish, today is set to be an even more nailed-on bunch sprint. It's the flattest road stage of the entire race, with not a single climb to be taken on all day.

Vuelta a España 2026 stage 17 preview – As flat as it gets but combination of Brennan and Van Aert provides a big obstacle for rivals

Yesterday was another win for Matthew Brennan, as most of the bunch sprints at this Vuelta have been. The British parody profited off an exceptional lead out from Wout van Aert to hold off Bryan Coquard in Palos de la Frontera.

Vuelta a España: Matthew Brennan makes it four with another scorching sprint to win stage 16

It's another scorcher of a day at the Vuelta, with temperatures once again exceeding 30 degrees, but riders were making light of the situation by playing with water pistols at the start.

The riders have been in the neutralised zone for some time now, but the official start has been delayed as Jan Hirt makes his way back to the group following a mechanical. They will be racing shortly.

OFFICIAL START

And they're off! Paleni, Dversnes and Fernández are the first riders to attack, and already have a gap approaching 30 seconds. Given the flat parcours, and seeming hopelessness of the break's chance of survival, this might already be the break of the day.

These are the three riders who escaped up the road, but they've now become two, as Dversnes has dropped. While Paleni and Fernández are over a minute up in the peloton, Dversnes is caught somewhere between in no-man's land.

The scene at the start today in Dos Hermanas.

170KM TO GO

Dversnes is back in the peloton, while Fernández and Paleni have a lead of over three minutes on a disinterested peloton. It's unclear why Dversnes dropped back, but what is known is that Fernández and Paleni love a breakaway, and will relish a day riding out the front that most would dread.

There's a relaxed atmosphere in the peloton, which has allowed the gap to the two leaders to grow to almost four minutes. The parcours is so flat and uncomplicated today that they are confidant in bringing a big gap back before the finish.

There's been a surprising development in the peloton, as six riders have attacked out of it. They have a considerable 4:30 to make up if they're to join the two leaders, so it's difficult to fathom what their plan is exactly, but it's sure livened things up - at least, until a few moments ago, when they were brought back.

It was actually nine riders rather than six who counter-attacked, and was a real ragtag bunch. Sprinter Bryan Coquard was a part of it, as was Mas’ teammate Raúl García Pierna and stage favourite Brennan’s teammate Steven Kruijswijk, plus Embret Svestad-Bårdseng, Mathias Sunekær Norsgaard, Milan Vader, Martin Tjøtta, Clément Alleno and Sergio Samitier.

150KM TO GO

The race has settled down again, the break being allowed a gap just shy of four minutes. It's serene in the peloton, where they are taking it relatively easy in the heat.

The GC riders are having an uncomplicated day hidden in the peloton, including Primož Roglič, pictured here. His big day comes tomorrow, when he’ll finally get to exercise his time trialling muscles in a bid to make a move on the red jersey, which he still hopes to win. Before the race started, he was not confident of winning what would be a record-breaking fifth Vuelta overall title - now, it looks like a very real possibility.

'I never expected to be going this well' – Primož Roglič says 'anything could happen' in Vuelta a España GC battle with Enric Mas and Felix Gall

Also safely in the peloton is Enric Mas, who is moving ever-closer to what would be a career-defining victory. The Spaniard is on the brink of ending what has been a career’s worth of second-place finishes and finally taking the big prize of overall victory at the Vuelta. Today should be a simple defence of the red jersey; tomorrow’s time trial, however, will be another matter.

'More than two minutes is comfortable' – Movistar head toward final Vuelta a España week time trial with confidence in Enric Mas

130KM TO GO

3:25 is the gap between the breakaway duo of Paleni and Fernández to the peloton, which is being led by Visma-Lease a Bike and Cofidis. They're working for Brennan and Coquard, the men who have been first and second respectively in both of the last two bunch sprints.

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Yesterday, Matthew Brennan became the first rider to win four stages on Grand Tour debut since Fernando Gaviria in 2017. Today, he's the hot favourite to make it five. The young Brit has been imperious in the sprints all race, and has confirmed his enormous talent. So good is his form, and such is the high he is riding, that he has set his sights on being selected for Visma-Lease a Bike's Tour de France team for next year, with his eye on wearing the yellow jersey on home British road.

Matthew Brennan has his sights set on the 2027 Tour de France, but will there be room in Jonas Vingegaard's Visma-Lease a Bike team?

120KM TO GO

As Visma and Cofidis continue to set the pace in the peloton, the gap has come down a little, to three minutes. It's hard to see this culminating in anything other than a bunch sprint.

As well as taking two stage wins for himself, Wout van Aert has performed exceptionally as a lead-out man for Brennan this Vuelta, and is a big reason he is enjoying such success. Unless Visma-Lease a Bike have a surprise in store (as at stage 15 when they misled the opposition off their scent by feigning to ride for a bunch sprint before Van Aert attacked), he'll likely be tasked with being Brennan's last lead-out man once again.

Van Aert’s form has raised eyebrows in the cycling world, especially ahead of the World Championships, with some saying that he looks as good as he did a few years ago during his peak. While collecting stage wins for himself and his team at the Vuelta is the immediate goal, he’s also riding here with an eye on building form just in time to win what would be a career-first rainbow jersey.

'He's close to 2022' – Wout van Aert ominously nears peak shape ahead of World Championships as he relishes high workload at Vuelta a España

100KM TO GO

Visma and Cofidis are keeping the break very much under control. With 100km still to ride, they have them at 3:20. There's been no real drama yet today - but there's still a very long way to go until the finish in Sevilla.

There's a bit of a stand-off in the peloton. Visma and Cofidis have stopped chasing, and no other teams have stepped in to take their place. As a result, the break's lead has ballooned up to almost five minutes. That's an unusual move from Visma, given how they are the hot favourites for the stage win, and no other team wants to give them a free ride to the finish.

90KM TO GO

Visma are back riding at the front now, but not before the gap has grown to 5:20. That's given some hope to the breakaway duo, who will be encouraged by the big margin they now have.

Normality has resumed, with Steven Kruijswijk going back to his usual role of pulling the peloton for Visma-Lease a Bike. The Dutchman has put in a serious shift throughout this Vuelta, the last Grand Tour of his whole career, and is epitomising what has made him such an invaluable domestique in this final phase of his career.

80KM TO GO

Visma are eating into the break's lead again, pulling back some of the time they conceded by bringing them back to 4:20. They've made it harder for themselves, but still have the stage under control.

Cofidis has helped with the pace-setting earlier, but did not step in when Visma called everyone's bluff and stopped pulling earlier. As good as Coquard has been in the sprints, he hasn't looked like coming close to beating Brennan in the last couple of finishes, and he's scratching his head as to how to get the better of him.

'It's not like we can block him off with one kilometre to go' - Runner-up Bryan Coquard recognises Matthew Brennan poses major challenge in Vuelta a España sprints

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The pace is up in the peloton, with Steven Kruijswijk stringing it out in one long line. As a result, the gap has come well down to 2:20. It might only be the one rider doing all the work, but he's outpacing the two leaders comfortably at the moment.

60KM TO GO

The gap continues to plummet, now down to 1:50. It's no longer Visma at the front, though, as other teams mass towards the front, including Red Bull and EF. They're riding attentively out of fear of the wind, keeping their GC favourites safe in the unlikely event that the race splits in the mild conditions as they ride through exposed roads.

Whatever happens today, this has already been one of the all-time great Grand Tours debut by Matthew Brennan. But if he can win yet again today, he’ll join an elite company of riders to have taken five or more stages at a single Grand Tour, which, in the 21st century, includes only a select few riders - Mark Cavendish, Mario Cipollini, Alessandro Pettachi, Marcel Kittel, John Degenkolb, Jonas Vingegaard, and, of course, Tadej Pogačar.

We have a split in the peloton! The wins is having some of an affect, with the pace up in the peloton as the GC teams ride at the front.

There's no real sense of urgency though, with no teams wanting to commit to pressing on, and no favourites having been caught out. It looks like everything is going to come back together.

Calm has returned to the race, with the splits having been undone and Kruijswijk back on the front of the peloton setting a controlling pace. The break's lead has grown a little too, back up to 1:50 - hope lives on.

Two years ago, the last time the Vuelta visited Sevilla, Wout van Aert was out-sprinted by Pavel Bittner to miss out on the stage win. Visma-Lease a Bike are on a mission to put that right this time, though the Belgian's job this time will be to lead out Brennan rather than sprint for himself.

Vuelta a España: Pavel Bittner swipes stage 5 victory ahead of Van Aert and Groves

30KM TO GO

Paleni and Fernández have left something in reserve, and are riding hard to increase their lead a little, to 2:05. It's still Visma doing the work in the peloton, though the indefatigable Kruijswijk is now getting assistance from some teammates.

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Visma and the peloton are being made to work to bring this two-man break back. With 22km to go, they still have 1:30 to make up. That should be bridgeable, but Paleni and Fernández still have hope they can cling on to as we enter the endgame of the stage.

INTERMEDIATE SPRINT

1:14 after the leading duo moved through it, Coquard wins the sprint in the peloton at the intermediate sprint, ahead of Van Aert. The Frenchman was resolved not to simply let the green jersey continue to pick up points uncontested, but he has a huge amount of ground to make up if he wants to overtake him in the classification.

Paleni and Fernández's day-long truce is at an end, ad the former has dropped the visibly tiring latter. That's going to make it very difficult for Paleni to survive, but he still has one minute to play with with 13km left to ride.

10KM TO GO

Fernández is back in the peloton, but Paleni continues to fight, holding a lead of 40 seconds. Visma and Cofidis are the teams leading the chase, preparing for a bunch sprint with their man Brennan and Coquard - a scenario that still seems the most likely.

Paleni's lead has dipped below 30 seconds with 7.5km to go. The Italian is now heavily outnumbered as multiple riders from Visma and Cofidis take turns at the front of the peloton.

5KM TO GO

The GC teams, including EF, had taken over at the front to protect their leaders, but now they're through the 5km to go safety zone, the sprinters' teams are back on the front and readying their lead outs. Paleni is only 7 seconds ahead, and about to be caught.

Attacks from the peloton! Some riders have taken a chance on trying to catch out the sprinters, using the twists and turns as they enter urban roads. Van Aert has neutralised it though, and the peloton is still together with 3km to go, Paleni finally caught.

1KM TO GO

Uno-X Mobility are leading the peloton, with multiple riders all riding with Cort on their wheel. At the moment, their leading the battle for positioning ahead of Visma-Lease a Bike.

MATTHEW BRENNAN WINS

It's five for Matthew Brennan! Uno-X Mobility led the sprint, dropping Cort off, but Brennan managed to come round the Dane to take the win, just about holding off a charge from Meeus, who was second.

It was a closer run thing than his previous four victories, but Brennan was still comfortably the fastest in the finale, and continues his imperious form for a fifth stage win of the race.

Brennan’s remarkable Vuelta continues to astound more and more. By winning today, he becomes the first rider to win five bunch sprint stages at a Grand Tour since Marcel Kittel at the 2017 Tour de France.

It's another day successfully negotiated in red for Enric Mas, who is getting closer and closer to the overall win.

As well as a history making race for Matthew Brennan, his Visma-Lease a Bike are also breaking records. Between them, he and Van Aert have delivered the team seven stage wins, which is the most in the team’s history at a single Grand Tour, and matches UAE’s total from last year. They only need one more to have the biggest haul of any team since Alessandro Petacchi’s Fassa Bortolo team from the 2004 Giro.

Thanks for joining us today! In truth it wasn't the most exciting stage, at least until the thrilling sprint finish, but tomorrow is guaranteed to be. It's the time trial, the stage the GC contenders have been waiting for; some with fear, and others, especially Primož Roglič, with relish. It will be one of the decisive days of this Vuelta, so be sure not to miss a moment and follow along with all the action with us again.

Good morning and welcome to stage 16 of the Vuelta a España, we’ll be bringing you live coverage throughout the day.

It looks like one for the sprinters today, with the vast majority of the 181.1km between Cortegana and La Rábida. Palos de la Frontera all downhill.
The race rolls out at 1:05pm local time.

There are no classified climbs today, though there are not far off 2,000m of vertical ascent as the race heads south down to the coast.

We’re still in Andalucia for today’s stage, right down in the far south-west, very close to the Portuguese border.

After days of ridiculously high temperatures, the peloton have the tiniest bit of respite today, with maximum temperatures forecast only at 34º.

Visma-Lease a bike have dominated the sprints at this year's Vuelta and Matthew Brennan is surely a favourite for today's stage.
The British sprinter is one who's been critical of racing in such hot weather.

It's not just the heat Brennan with have to worry about today, it's windy down near the finish, with a cross tailwind from 23km to go, then cross head from 12km.
This could be an exciting, nervy finish.

Whatever happens today this is a big week of racing.
Enric Mas (Movistar) still leads, but can he hold on?

Movistar's Director of Racing, Matt White certainly thinks so, saying, "More than two minutes is comfortable."

Primož Roglič is one of the favourites for the Thursday's time trial, but can he gain enough time to overhaul Mas?

"Anything could happen," says the Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe rider.

And we're rolling! We have 4.6km of neutral before we get going. The day after the rest day will there be a huge fight for the break, or will teams accept that a bunch finish is inevitable?

The official start is given

Let's go. 181.1km of racing ahead of us, and it's a down hill start.

Almost all the climbing comes in the opening half of the stage and after the downhill start the rolling terrain starts.
With 5km done, that's where we are now, so expect the attacks to begin.

And there they go! Eight riders are trying to get away.

Bryan Coquard is one of only two sprinters not in the Vimsa-Lease a Bike team to have won one of the bunch sprints in this Vuelta, so naturally the Cofidis rider was in demand this morning.

And that group of eight?
They're caught.

Now we have another group with a tiny advantage, this time it's five riders.

165km to go

We've got some reasonably steep ramps here, well into double figures, ad we have five clear.
Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ United), Simon Dalby (UNO-X Mobility), Jasha Sütterlin (Jayco-AlUla) and Roland Thalmann (Tudor ProCycling) have only 15 seconds.

The gap is creeping up, but they are being chased, with Visma-Lease a Bike and - strangely - UNO-X at the front. It could be that the Scandinavian team are interfering with the chase.

Whoever's doing the chasing, the breakaway's lead is increasing. It's now 1:10 seconds. Is it all done so quickly?

We have a breakaway - 160km to go

Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ United), Simon Dalby (UNO-X Mobility), Jasha Sütterlin (Jayco-AlUla) and Roland Thalmann (Tudor ProCycling) lead by 1:20

The front of the race is over an early unclassified peak and onto the rolling terrain which characterises the course until just after the half-way mark.

Sunday's stage 15 presented a very different route to today's, but the breakaway was never allowed any real advantage, Visma-Lease a BIke holding close. Will they do that again?
The gap is still only 1:40.

It was a hugely impressive performance from Wout van Aert to take the win on Sunday.
But he said; "I'm not coming back, I can't maintain this statistic."

150km to go

Well, we definitely have a breakaway, our five leaders are now 2:20 up the road and it seems their advantage has settled there.
If you missed it, this is who they are.

Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ United), Simon Dalby (UNO-X Mobility), Jasha Sütterlin (Jayco-AlUla) and Roland Thalmann (Tudor ProCycling).

We have a pretty strong group up in that breakaway. Tody, with plenty of experience.
American, Kevin Vermaerke has been incredibly active this Vuelta, though perhaps because his team are down just four riders.
"To be honest, that was not the plan at all" he said of his solo move on stage 14.

The break is well and truly established - 135km to go

With our five leaders now 2:24 up the road, this group is well and truly away and we have a classic sprint stage.
But can Visma control this all alone? Who will help them?

Maybe Coquard's Cofidis squad will lend a hand, they did on Sunday's stage into Córdoba. What about Groupama-FDJ United?

Bastien Tronchon won stage 10 in a bunch kick.

The breakaway's advantage really has settled now, Vermaerke, Madouas, Dalby, Sütterling and Thalmann lead by 2:40.

Of the other breakaway riders, Madouas is the most successful in terms of victories. The Frenchman has seven to his name, though the 2023 Bretagne Classic is his most recent.
He's a one team man too, he joined Groupama in 2018.

We have a split in the bunch. They've come over a small climb but the gradients aren't too steep and the descent is far from technical.

120km to go

That split in the bunch has been repaired, and the bunch have trimmed a little off the breakaway's advantage. They have 2:10.

It's warming up too, it's 34º and approaching the maximum forecast temperature.

Today isn't the first breakaway for Sütterlin, he was up the road on stages 14 and 10. the 33-year-old is super strong, has a huge engine and is very experienced.

At only 23, Simon Dalby is the youngest in the leading group and is an accomplished climber. In his second year at WorldTour level, the Dane is also a serial breakaway rider, up the road on stage 13 and in other stage races this year.

A few months older than Sütterlin, Swiss rider Roland Thalmann is 33, but only began at ProTeam level in 2023. His only career win came in 2022, taking a stage in the 2.2 level Tour d'Alsace.

The final 100km

With 100km to go there's plenty of time for the sprinters' teams to bring this break back, but the gap is very gradually being whittled away.
Vermaerke, Madouas, Dalby, Sütterling and Thalmann are 2:02 ahead.

The breakaway is being brought back

The leaders' advantage is really coming down now, they're only 1:30 ahead.

It's 35º out there now, that's hot.
Visma-Lease a Bike seem to be in control though.

Why are Visma bringing the break back so soon?
The chances are they want to get breakaway into a more controllable position, but not so close that others can bridge across and create chaos.

The gap has settled now, and the peloton sit 1:25 behind the leading group of Vermaerke, Madouas, Dalby, Sütterling and Thalmann.
Meanwhile Timo Roosen has abandoned, leaving Picnic-PostNL with only four riders.

We're descending from the hilly section of the race now and the next 80km are very flat indeed. the wind is still blowing, though it's only around 20kph inland.

A bit of an issue for UAE Team Emirates' rider Doman Novak who had a musette stuck in a wheel. He's and going though.

75km to go

The race has settled again with Visma having brought the deficit to the breakaway to 1:30.

Visma-Lease a Bike have been on the front all day long, they seem to have huge confidence in Matthew Brennan for the sprint finish, and rightly so.
Right behind them in the stretched out bunch are Movistar, keeping race leader Enric Mas safe.

We're approaching the day's intermediate sprint which comes with 66km to go. The breakaway will take honours there, they still lead by 1:15.

Intermediate sprint

We're in Villarrasa for the intermediate sprint.
1. Vermaerke
2. Sütterlin
3. Thalmann

There are 66km remaining of stage 16.

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No surprise but it's getting warmer as we head south and closer to the coast. It's now 36º, warmer than forecast.

There's a short 'climb' coming up now, it's nothing serious, just 4.5km averaging 2.4% gradient, it won't trouble anyone in the race.

For the first time the leaders' advantage drops below one minute, Vermaerke, Madouas, Dalby, Sütterling and Thalmann lead by only 50 seconds with 55km to go.

Visma have reinforcements at the front now, Cofidis are there and even Primož Roglič's Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe squad are close by.
Under 40 seconds for the breakaway

50km to go

The breakaway have fought valiantly, but they're being brought back now. Their lead is below 40 seconds.

The peloton, and Visma in particular, are just playing with this breakaway, grinding away at them, but they're not caught until they're caught.

But it's Cofidis on the front at the moment, with Red Bull also adding some firepower to Visma's effort.

24 seconds for the leading group now with 40km to go.

Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ United), Simon Dalby (UNO-X Mobility), Jasha Sütterlin (Jayco-AlUla) and Roland Thalmann (Tudor ProCycling) have been up the road all day, but there was never much hope they'd stay away.

The racing will get very interesting very soon, in the village of Barrohondo when they sweep left at a roundabout and the crosswinds hit from the right side.

The next roundabout is where those crosswinds will start, the buch are leaving nothing to chance and they have the breakaway in sight.

The race has taken the turn and the oace is up, but iis the wind high enough. Surely someone will try something.

40km to go

The breakaway is within touching distance, just 30 seconds ahead of the peloton.

We're alongside the estuary of the Rio Tinto, but the road is quite protected and there's nothing doing in the crosswinds. So far.

Seems as though the break might be left to dangle for the while, they sitting just 30 seconds up the road with 31km to go.

Will the breakaway be caught before they reach the town? That lead is coming down again, 19 secinds with 29km to go.

A roundabout with a touch more than 26km remaining sees the race head into the town of Palos de la Frontera, where there’s all the road furniture you’d expect in a town. It’s technical, with the threat of cross tailwinds straight afterwards.

The gap has been allowed to increase again, it's 31 seconds, they'll reach the town at the front of the race.
Mind you, a lot of teams are fighting for their place on the road now.

The beginning of the end - 25km to go

Into Palos de la Frontera and we have a couple of roundabout and tight turns as we head south-east and into a cross tail wind of around 25kph. Is that strong enough to cause problems?

A crash in town, with Ivo Oliveira down.
Just eight seconds for the breakaway now.

The breakaway is caught

23km to goo and the final is beginning. This will be some sort of bunch sprint.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have taken control now, Visma have melted away. Are Red Bull working for a sprint or in the hope of splitting the race in the wind and taking time out of Enric Mas?

At 12km to go we go almost all the way round the roundabout and head towards the finish and into a cross headwind almost alongside the coast.

Once again the road is well protected from any wind, but it's not by the coast, with few in the way of buildings until very close to the finish.

Visma are back at the front, controlling the pace and protecting Brennan. Cofidis are there too, with Bryan Coquard looking for a second stage win and a career second Grand Tour victory.

Close to the coast - 15km to go

Oliveira is up and riding again.
The roadside trees are moving in the wind, but so far they're protecting the peloton and there's no crosswind action.

Once again Visma are in complete control, this bodes well for another win for the Dutch squad, but they've done a lot of work, other teams will be looking to take advantage of that.

Coming to the almost dead turn roundabout now, it's at 12km exactly.

Once they're round they'll have some protection in the trees, but it opens out.

Round the roundabout and it’s virtually straight all the way now, the next right turn coming 1.4km from the line.
Red Bull are on the front, but Visma are close by. Van Aert is close to the front with Brennan on his wheel.

10km to go

A group distanced by the crash have just got back on, at the front Netcompany-Ineos are there keeping the pace high and doing Visma's work for them.
Of course they are executing their own plan as well.

A number of teams are up there, Visma, Bahrain Victorious, Red Bull among them. Soudal-QuickStep are there with their full team, Alberto Dainese their man for the sprint.

Bunch sprint incoming - 5km to go

There'll be no crosswind fun today, this is all set up for a bunch kick. Can Brennan make it four?

The road is very wide here and the peloton is seething with a number teams able to fight for position. This can be dangerous.

The pace is very high, but the race is strangely calm in the run up to the sprint finish.
Remember we have the roundabout at 1.4km to go.

At 500m to go we’ll see the final turn before the line, it’s a left hander, but it’s not a tight turn, though positioning here will be key.

UNO-X are at the front now, but still Visma maintain position, what a ride.

There's a central reservation between the Soudal QuickStep part of the bunch and the rests of the peloton.

Final kilometre!

This is getting scrappy, UNO-X really fighting as the road narrows. QuickStep hit the front

The roundabout has caused a split, but all the sprinters are there

Van Aert hits the front on the exit of the final bend and delivers a brilliant lead out to the 125m metre mark. No one can come round Brennan who makes it four wins and six for Visma-Lease a Bike.

Bryan Coquard takes second place, with Vito Braet (Lotto-Intermarché) in third.

That was a brilliant win from Brennan and the entire Visma-Lease a Bike squad. They began the day with only six riders, after the loss first of Ben Tulett then Christophe Laporte, but they still managed to control a strong five man group throughout the 181.1km stage. Not only that, but they hand the resources to position Brennan perfectly for the sprint.

Such is the Briton's strength, and that of the whole squad, it was as much of a foregone conclusion as a bunch sprint can be.

"Yeah, it's unbelievable, four victories here. The plan was for one, and as a team, we're now on six, I think, I've lost count," Brennan said at the finish.

"We've won so many stages that we've gone for. We've really committed to the plan that we have. You've seen the boys all day today. If you've been watching at home, they just been pushing so much wind, and to finish off like that, bringing me across the line, basically in a perfect place in such a chaotic final, it was perfect.

"I really trusted Wout and followed his wheel all the way, and yeah, it's incredible that he can bring you in [position] in such a chaotic race."

There could be another opportunity for Brennan on stage 17.

At 185km, the stage is marginally longer than today's, but there's half the climbing, so a bunch sprint would be the the most obvious conclusion. However, not only is the final much more technical, who is going to help Visma control a break.

It seems the only way they can beat Brennan is to put the team under pressure. It didn't work today, but it could do in Sevilla on stage 17. But do not be surprised in Brennan takes another.

As for race leader Enric Mas (Movistar), his lead remains unchanged after Tuesday's stage, and barring disaster he should be untroubled on Wednesday. Mas's time with come on Thursday when he'll need to defend his GC lead in the 32.1km individual time trial.

That's all from us today, we'll be back for more tomorrow, we hope you can join us.

Hello and welcome to stage 15 of the Vuelta a España!

You join us later than planned, as the stage has been considerably reduced due to the enactment of the extreme weather protocol. The organisers deemed the temperatures dangerously hot, and have consequently taken out a considerable chunk of the parcours. Here’s our lowdown filling you in with all of the details.

Vuelta a España stage 15 shortened by 70km to protect the health of the riders in extreme heat

Despite the changes to the parcours, the nature of the stage hasn’t been altered too much, but will instead become a more intense version of the medium mountain stage originally planned. This was always unlikely to be a day for the GC riders, and only one of the three climbs has been taken out, so it will still be the puncheurs and breakaway specialists who will be gunning for victory today.

Vuelta a España 2026 stage 15 preview - Distance and climbing reduced on Sunday due to extreme weather protocol

This certainly doesn’t seem like a GC day on paper, with only two classified climbs, but anybody still wanting to move up on GC will be consciously aware of the lack of opportunities to come in the final week.

There will be a couple of flat stages following tomorrow's rest day before the all-important time trial on Thursday, and then just one hilly day before the climactic queen stage on Saturday, prior to Granada’s finale. Might that prompt some ambitious attacks from GC riders today? The intensity of the shortened parcours might be conducive to such bold moves.

The riders have set off from the neutralised start, with many readying themselves to try and get into the break. Though it undulates for most of the stage, the parcours begins with a flat stretch, which will give some more heavier rouleurs a chance to get into the break.

Perhaps the man to look out for more than anyone else in terrain like this is Wout van Aert. He won his first stage of this year's Vuelta just two days ago - will he add a second today?

OFFICIAL START

And they're off! There have already been a flurry of attacks, and the peloton is stretched out in one long line - there are clearly many people who want to get into the break today. This is a battle that could rage for some time.

A group of six riders went clear for a little while, but was brought back, and more moves have followed since - all to no avail. There's still a lot more flat roads to take on before they arrive at the first climb.

While the fight to get into the breakaway continues out front, with Enzo Paleni instigating a new move in which about ten or so riders have a lead of a few seconds, at the back of the peloton Richard Carapaz has had to have a bike change. He's tried many ambitious attacks already at this Vuelta - does he have another one lined up sometime today? You sense if any of the GC contenders is going to make an unlikely attack today, it's him; and the team have said that GC remains their priority.

'We're not ruling out anything' - EF Education-EasyPost confirm Richard Carapaz's ongoing fight for overall in Vuelta a España

90KM TO GO

A group of eleven have got up the road, and the peloton has let them have a minute -it appears we have our break of the day, before we've even arrived at the first uphill of the day. There are no representatives from Visma however, which might make harm their hopes of survival. They will surely want to chase for their men Van Aert and Brennan.

Here's a full run-down of the eleven riders in the break. As they approach the foot of the first climb of the day, their lead is being kept at one minute, by a peloton being led by Visma-Lease a Bike. It might be that the team are wanting to keep them close enough to get their own men to join them on the climb.

80KM TO GO

The peloton is still keeping the eleven leaders at about one minute as they climb up the category three Puerto de la Forestal, which rises at 4.5% for 7.5km. Visma-Lease a Bike are the team doing most of the work, with some Cofidis riders also joining them in the line at the front of the peloton.

There's been a move in the peloton, with Georg Steinhauser attacking out of it with just less than 2km still to climb. He's got quite a bit of time to make up on the leaders, who are still about 50 seconds ahead, but he's a strong climber on form, especially during yesterday's mountain stage.

KOM - PUERTO DE LA FORESTAL

Leemreize leads the eleven-man breakaway group over the climb, with Georg Steinhauser cresting it just 17 seconds later, then the peloton at 35 seconds. It doesn't appear as though this breakaway will be allowed to stay out.

It's another scorcher of a day in Spain, and though the stage has been shortened, this is still an uncomfortable day to be racing for many in the peloton.

To make matters harder, it's been a frenetic start, with no let up yet. Steinhauser has bridged up to the leading group, while the peloton continues to chase them.

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Primož Roglič has been briefly separated from the rest of his Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe team, having to drop out of the peloton for a bike change. The Slovenian has so far been frustrated in his efforts to dislodge Enric Mas from the top of the GC, and yesterday slipped from second on GC to third behind Felix Gall. But he's not giving up on winning this race.

'Enric is proving hard to match' - Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe management recognise strength of Vuelta a España leader Mas as Primož Roglič ships more time

60KM TO GO

We're almost halfway through this shortened stage, and Visma are still keeping this break on a leash in the undulating terrain, at just 23 seconds. Is the plan to bring them back for a sprint, or for someone - more specifically, Van Aert - to bridge up to them with an attack?

Cofidis are also still helping the pace-setting, and their plan is more obviously to control things to try and bring about a sprint for Coquard.

Here's what today's revised pacrours looks like. Before a final downhill and flat run-in to the finish, it undulates pretty much all day, which will make things hard for the sprinters' teams to control - and perhaps convince Visma to try an attack with Van Aert rather than depend on Brennan in a bunch sprint.

UAE are still searching for their first stage win at the Vuelta since Pogačar pulled out of the race. Today Oliveira is the man chasing one, having gotten into the break, but recently it's been the impressive Kevin Vermaerke who has been their most active rider. He's taking a well-earned rest in the peloton today.

'To be honest, that was not the plan at all' - Kevin Vermaerke follows his instincts in latest long-distance Vuelta a España breakaway move

UAE Team Emirates - XRG might have Oliveira up the road, but they don't seem to have much faith in him. They've just upped the pace in the peloton, taking over from Visma-Lease a Bike.

After a brief lull, Michael Gogl then attacked out of the peloton, trying to bridge up to the leaders.

The riders are about to arrive at the foot of the final, and arguably toughest, climb of the day, the Puerto Artafi. With its 5.9km length and 5.4% average gradient, this one's been rated a category three, and is likely to form a launchpad for attacks from the peloton, especially as the lead breakaway group is now only about 25 seconds ahead of them.

40KM TO GO

As they take on the climb, four riders have gone clear from the rest of the breakaway group - Weiss, Thompson, Azparren and former stage winner Leknessund, who are now ten seconds ahead of the rest (which also features Gogl, who managed to bridge up from the peloton).

The peloton is still within striking distance, though, just 35 seconds behind the leading four. Visma are doing the pace-setting again, and has the race under their control.

The race is breaking up on this climb! Lekenssund and Azparren had gone clear of Weiss and Thompson, and now Leknessund has gone clear by himself

Meanwhile in the peloton, riders are being dropped out of the peloton including Coquard, who Cofidis have been working for at the front of the peloton. The Frenchman was calling for a bidon.

KOM - PUERTO ARTAFI

Leknessund crests the climb 10 seconds ahead of Debruyne, who had attacked out of the peloton earlier on the climb and caught and passed the rest of the breakaway group, but the peloton is now just 25 seconds behind him. The advantage remains firmly in the favour of the peloton, and it's looking more like we might have a sprint since no significant attacks were made on that climb.

30KM TO GO

It's all kicking off! Debruyne has managed to catch Leknessund, and now they're about to be joined by two riders - Romele, and none other than Van Aert. More riders have attacked out of the peloton too and trying to bridge up to them.

Nys has managed to join the leading quartet, and there are still more riders behind trying to chase. The peloton are falling further and further adrift, and are now 35 seconds behind them. It's looking very promising for the breakaway group.

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There's no control in the peloton anymore, which is very small and short of domestiques. Multiple riders have jumped out of it, though all are in search of the stage wins - the GC men are all in the peloton, which has slowed down.

Debruyne tried an attack out of the lead group, and led them by a few seconds for a little while, but has just been brought back by them. They have a few more kilometres of undulating terrain before the big downhill plunge to the flat run-in to the finish.

20KM TO GO

The five leaders are about to crest the final uncategorised ascent of the day, with a lead over the chasers of just under a minute, and over the peloton of 1:30. Coquard is back in the peloton, but they're facing a big, unlikely chase to bring these five leaders back.

Van Aert tried an attack just before the summit, but didn't manage to get a gap.

Usually, he'd back himself in a sprint against most breakaway groups. But in this case, both Romele and Nys are fast finishers he won't be 100% confidant about defeating. It will be fascinating to see who, if anyone, from this breakaway group attempts an attack in the final 15km.

10M TO GO

It's looking like the stage win will go to one of the five leading riders: Van Aert Romele, Nys, Leknessund or Debruyne. The chase group haven't made any inroads on the descent, and are still almost a minute behind.

Back in the peloton, Red Bull had applied the pressure on at the front on the descent, perhaps to ask questions of Mas, but have pulled up now they're on the flat and allowed Movistar to take over. That hasn't stopped Magnus Cort from making an attack, but it's hard to understand why - the leaders are two minutes up the road, and are going to contest the stage.

The games ave started in the lead group, who are now looking at each other, swinging from one side to the other of a wide stretch of road 4km from the finish. Still no attacks from any of them.

Nys makes an attack! Romele was tasked with chasing it, but relied upon Van Aert to bring it back.

Then Leknessund made a counter-attack, and another attack, and both times it was Van Aert who dragged the rest of the group back.

1KM TO GO

No more attacks have been made, although Nys dummies one as they go under the 1km to go banner. Van Aert leads the group - it's very tense.

VAN AERT WINS

He's done it again! Nys launched the sprint first, but went early. Van Aert sat on his wheel for most of it, then moved past him in the final metres to take the win. Romele pipped Nys for second.

Movistar have just led the peloton home, about 2:40 after Van Aert. Mas is safely in it, along with all of the GC contenders, so the top ten will remain the same.

So that's a second stage win at this year's Vuelta, and an eighth for the Belgian this year. He had some relatively lean year, by his high standards, but has reverted back to being a regular winner, in what has been his most prolific season since 2022.

It was a horribly hot day for the riders to compete in, and one man unhappy with the circumstances was Matthew Brennan.

It was an entertaining battle in the final few kilometres among the breakaway riders. Leknessund was the most aggressive, but Nys was arguably the canniest, nearly catching out the others with his single attack, and then launching a sprint that Van Aert could only defeat as the finish line approached.

That's his second third-place finish of the Vuelta so far, and a first ever Grand Tour stage victory looks within his grasp next week.

Here's what Van Aert had to say at the finish.

Thanks for joining us today, when the second week of the Vuelta ended with yet another win for Visma-Lease a Bike - their fifth of the Vuelta so far.

The riders will take a well-earned day off tomorrow for the rest day, but will be back again on Tuesday for a stage 16 that looks like, at long last, one for the sprinters. We’ll be back for that, and every other day of the final week, to bring you more live coverage, an Enric Mas seeks to defend the red jersey.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of stage 14 of the Vuelta a España!

We're just over an hour from the start of today's stage.

Here's a look at what the riders have to deal with today.

And here's the map of the stage.

4,100 metres of elevation gain on the menu today and three major classified climbs.

A look at the main difficulty of the day, the final climb to the finish.

Here's a reminder of the Vuelta GC standings ahead of stage 14.

Vuelta a España GC standings – Enric Mas remains in red as Gregor Mühlberger crashes out of top 10

Read our full stage 14 preview here.

Vuelta a España stage 14 preview – Brutally steep Sierra de la Pandera should reignite GC hostilities, but is anyone stronger than Enric Mas?

15 minutes until the riders roll out for the neutral zone.

The big news from this morning...

Tadej Pogačar to miss remainder of 2026 season after Vuelta a España crash, but extends UAE Team Emirates-XRG contract until 2032

How to watch Vuelta a España 2026 – Live streams and official broadcasters for stage 14

All the ways you can watch or stream the 2026 Vuelta a España from wherever you are in the world, including free options, with stage 14 on Saturday

The riders are off for the neutral start.

A long 7.4km neutral zone to start.

Richard Carapaz with a mechanical in the neutral zone.

A puncture for Jorge Arcas, too.

154.5km to go

The flag drops a few minutes late and stage 14 is underway!

Already a huge group on the attack early on.

Around 30 riders on the move.

It's uphill from the start today as the riders tackle the unclassified Mancha Real (13km at 2.7%).

Mountain classification leader Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) among those on the attack.

The move hasn't gone clear, though. There'll be some battle for the breakaway today.

Hugo Hofstetter and Simon Dalby falling victim to punctures early on.

144km to go

Another group of attackers hit off at the front.

24 riders on the move.

Lorenzo Fortunato was among those on the attack but the move has been brought back.

Over the top of that first hill and it's all back together.

138km to go

No moves clear at the front yet.

Buitrago continues to be active at the front.

'Enric is the favourite' – Tadej Pogačar's director at UAE Team Emirates-XRG names Mas as top candidate to win Vuelta a España

Fortunato on the move again.

Hugo Houle (Alpecin-Premier Tech) becomes the latest rider the abandon the Vuelta.

Moritz Kretschy (NSN) didn't start the stage, so there are now 153 riders left in the race.

130km to go

A host of riders jumping away at the front now.

Fortunato, Vermaerke, De la Cruz, Garcí Pierna, Kruijswijk, Nordhagen, Dainese, Sütterlin, Thompson, Fernández, Steinhauser, Romele on the attack.

15 seconds between the attackers and the peloton.

The attackers are now caught.

There's a split in the peloton now.

Around 45 riders at the front, 35 seconds between the groups.

Now around 40 riders out front.

Santiago Buitrago, Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious)

Mario Aparicio, José Manuel Díaz, Clément Alleno, Sinuhé Fernández (Burgos Burpellet BH)

Paul Ourselin (Cofidis)

Oscar Chamberlain (Decathlon CMA CGM)

Darren Rafferty, Georg Steinhauser, Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost)

Clément Berthet, Guillaume Martin (Groupama-FDJ United)

Finlay Pickering, Koen Bouwman, Asbjørn Hellemose (Jayco-AlUla)

Iván Sosa (Kern Pharma)

Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Netcompany Ineos)

Patrick Konrad, Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek)

Reuben Thompson (Lotto-Intermarché)

Raúl García Pierna, Pablo Castrillo (Movistar)

Pau Martí (NSN)

Milan Vader, Xabier Azparren, Walter Calzoni, David de la Cruz (Pinarello-Q36.5)

Filippo Zana, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Ethan Hayter, Alberto Dainese (Soudal-QuickStep)

Juan Guillermo Martínez, Reuben Thompson (Picnic-PostNL)

Marco Brenner, Larry Warbasse, Will Barta, Roland Thalmann (Tudor)

Steven Kruijswijk (Visma-Lease a Bike)

Kevin Vermaerke, João Almeida, Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)

Cristián Rodríguez, Lorenzo Fortunato, Alessandro Romele (XDS-Astana)

113km to go

The group has raced away to a three-minute lead already. That's our break of the day.

A lot of these riders have been in the break several times before.

It's the fifth time in the move for Fernández, Bilbao, and Buitrago.

For Vermaerke, Albanese, Paret-Peintre, García Pierna, Zana, and Hayter it's their fourth time out front.

111km to go

3:05 for the breakaway riders now.

The jersey holders at the start of the stage today.

'We're not ruling out anything' - EF Education-EasyPost confirm Richard Carapaz's ongoing fight for overall in Vuelta a España

Former Vuelta podium finisher and Giro d'Italia winner currently running fourth overall in Spain

We're still waiting for live pictures from today's stage.

97km to go

3:35 between break and peloton now.

Riders on the attack earlier on today.

Still no classified climbs yet. They're all packed in the second half of the stage.

It's all been up and down so far, though. The riders have already tackled 1,000 metres of elevation.

93km to go

Movistar leading at the front of the peloton, 3:20 behind the break.

3:40 now as the peloton lets the break slip a little further away.

Here's what David de la Cruz had to say about today's stage...

"Today is going to be a very tough day, because of the heat and the finish at La Pandera, but I’ll try to get through the day as best I can, and see if I can soon get my body back on track and feel good again, because yesterday was the first day of La Vuelta that I felt quite good.

"I think we did the Pandera in 2017, and again in 2022, so I know the climb well. It’s a very tough climb, not just the climb itself, but the approach: going through Valdepeñas de Jaén, where the steep stretch is really tough, then a very wide road… and then the heat – today is probably the day when you’ll feel the heat the most."

'I have tough memories of that year' - Enric Mas looks to avoid repeat of 2022 time loss to Roglič on Sierra de la Pandera

Spaniard to take conservative approach, worries if very hot weather worsens, meetings needed "to work out what to do"

83km to go

4:10 now for the break as Orluis Aular and Carlos Canal lead the way behind for Movistar.

A selecton of the riders in the break today.

Just under 10km to go to the first climb of the day.

78km to go

The Puerto de los Villares measures in at 10.5km at a 5.4% average gradient.

Five minutes up to the breakaway now.

Enric Mas pulls off to the side of the road with a mechanical issue.

Three from Movistar at the front of the peloton with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Decathlon CMA CGM lined up behind them.

They're onto the first climb of the day now.

Jordan Labrosse has abandoned the race in another blow to Felix Gall. Another key helper for the German, Gregor Mühlberger, left the Vuelta yesterday.

Meanwhile, Movistar have brought the gap down under four minutes.

67km to go

3:50 now.

Picnic-PostNL rider Oliver Peace is also out of the race.

No big moves in the breakaway yet.

'A serious confidence boost for the Worlds' - As rainbow jersey battle looms, Wout van Aert shows stunning form and racecraft in Vuelta a España

Belgian claims 15th Grand Tour stage win of career after he and teammate Matthew Brennan keep firm grip on finale

A crash in the peloton. Fabio Van den Bossche, Christopher Hamilton, Thomas Gloag, and Timo De Jong all caught up.

All are up and running again fairly quickly.

The breakaway is coming to the top of the climb now.

61km to go

Santiago Buitrago leads the way at the top for five mountain points.

2,200 metres of climbing done today, just over the halfway mark.

Movistar continue to lead the peloton four minutes down.

The peloton heads over the top of the climb.

A 9km descent now and some time in the valley before the next climb.

Mountain classification leader Buitrago has extended his lead today.

52km to go

Kevin Vermaerke has jumped clear of the break on his own.

The American racer has around 10 seconds on the rest of the break.

'Sometimes he falls into that trap of wanting too much' – Decathlon admit potential weakness for Felix Gall in Vuelta a España red jersey battle

French team remain confident with 2:06 to make up on Enric Mas, with podium buffer allowing for possible change in tactics

The gap back to the peloton has grown out to 4:40 now.

Vermaerke and the break are in the valley now, but it's not a flat road to the next climb. Instead, it's up and down over hills and rises.

46km to go

Vermaerke has 50 seconds on the break now.

The peloton has now dropped to 5:50 down on Vermaerke.

The Puerto de Locubín (9km at 5.1%) is the next climb on the menu. Vermaerke is 22km away from the top.

1:05 for Vermaerke now.

A week ago, Vermaerke revealed that he's racing the Vuelta with a cracked rib.

41km to go

Vermaerke now has 1:15 on the break.

Almost seven minutes back to the peloton now.

37km to go

Vermaerke now has 1:35 on the breakaway, too. These time gaps are only going up.

Stage 4 of the Tour of Britain has just finished.

Here's our race report on the day's action.

Current time gaps are 1:45 to the break and 7:50 to the peloton.

Movistar continue to lead the peloton.

Aular still at the front for Movistar.

32km to go

How long can Vermaerke last out front?

Aular leading the way, eight minutes behind Vermaerke.

Vermaerke passes through the intermediate sprint point for 20 points.

Vermaerke is starting the next climb now.

9km to the top.

Alessandro Romele has nipped out of the break to grab 17 points. He's third in the points classification.

29km to go

On the climb now and Vermaerke is still 1:45 up on the break.

Christophe Laporte (Visma-Lease a Bike) is the latest rider to abandon the Vuelta.

That's five riders out of the race today.

150 left.

Movistar remain at the head of the peloton at eight minutes down.

Enric Mas towards the front of the peloton with Red Bull and Decathlon behind.

Riders drop off the rear of the peloton on the climb.

25km to go

Vermaerke is 3.5km from the top.

He's 1:35 up on the break now.

The break is closing in on Vermaerke now. The gap is down to 1:15.

Romele is leading the group up the climb.

The peloton now at 7:25.

21km to go

Vermaerke heads over the summit and he's just 55 seconds up on the rest now.

Behind him, there's a sprint to the top and Buitrago gets no mountain points.

Cristián Rodríguez and Clement Berthet took the three and one point over the top in second and third place.

Into the final 20km now.

The peloton still 7:15 down on Vermaerke.

Richard Carapaz celebrated when the Vuelta last visited the Sierra de la Pandera back in 2022.

Here's our report from that day.

15km to go

Georg Steinhauser has attacked from the break and is now catching Vermaerke.

The American's advantage has evaporated.

The leaders are racing up the wall of the Valdepeñas de Jaén, visited by the Vuelta in 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2021.

Steinhauser has caught Vermaerke.

The German has passed Vermaerke and left him behind now.

12km to go

He has started the final climb.

It's 11.9km at a 7.2% average gradient.

40 seconds between Steinhauser and the rest of the break.

The peloton is at 7:20.

They're just about to tackle the Valdepeñas de Jaén wall.

Jarno Widar at the rear of the peloton.

Vermaerke on the attack earlier on. He's back in the breakaway group now.

Guillaume Martin has attack from the break in pursuit of Steinhauser.

Martin's teammate Clement Berthet is up to virtual fifth overall at the moment.

The Frenchman was 10th at 11:06 to start the stage.

Iván Romeo is at the front of the peloton now with Mas behind him.

Movistar still have two men up the road, of course.

9km to go

Martin is across to Steinhauser at the front.

They're 50 seconds clear at the front.

Vermaerke attacks again behind. Aparicio goes with him.

Steinhauser off the front.

8km to go

He has a minute on the rest of the break.

Only around 25 left in the peloton.

Aparicio is coming across to Steinhauser and Martin.

Further back, the break is falling apart.

7km to go

Aparicio is with Steinhauser and Martin now.

Brenner, Zana, Paret-Peintre attack behind.

More riders are coming across to the front.

Zana, Brenner get across.

Now five out front as another group chases.

Buitrago, Sosa, Paret-Peintre among the chasers at 15 seconds.

6km to go

6:35 back to the peloton.

EF to the front in the GC group and they're setting up Carapaz.

Aparicio attacks at the front again.

Steinhauser chases him as seven others follow.

Carapaz now on the front with Mas, Roglič, Gall.

5km to go

Harold Tejada makes a move at the front.

Berthet attacks the group behind Aparicio.

Castrillo now back with the GC group.

Jack Haig now pacing the GC group for Oscar Onley.

Aparicio has 30 seconds on the rest of the break.

No moves among the GC men yet.

Tejada has been brought back by the GC men.

4km to go

Aparicio still on his own out front. He has 35 seconds now.

Meanwhile, Almeida is slowly working his way through the group behind Aparicio.

Castrillo now leads the GC group.

Steinhauser has dropped back from the chase. Now it's Marco Brenner chasing Aparicio.

Buitrago, Rodríguez, Paret-Peintre just behind.

15% gradients for the leaders.

3.5km to go

Buitrago and Brenner catch and pass Aparicio.

Buitrago is now dropping Brenner.

Aparicio dropped by that group.

Brenner, Paret-Peintre, Rodríguez chasing Buitrago.

3km to go

Brenner is just ahead of the other two.

5:40 back to the GC men.

Rodríguez is leaping up the virtual standings. He was 11:10 down on Mas at the start of the day.

Castrillo is still pulling the GC group.

Mas attacks!

Just a small move.

Skjelmose is dropped.

The GC men on the steep part now. Carapaz attacks.

Gall and Mas chase Carapaz.

Roglič also with them.

2.5km to go

Up front, Brenner has caught Buitrago.

Sosa now up with Rodríguez behind the two leaders and Paret-Peintre has dropped away.

Gall, Mas, Roglič are across to Carapaz.

Onley hasn't been able to go with them.

2km to go

Sosa is making headway into the lead of Buitrago and Brenner.

1.5km to go

Sosa and Rodríguez are across to Brenner and Buitrago.

Meanwhile, Gall attacks and Mas follows.

Roglič leads Carapaz across and then goes to the front.

No separation among the big four GC men.

Sosa is now leading the breakaway men.

1km to go

Final kilometre for the four leaders as Sosa continues to lead.

Buitrago attacks from the back of the group.

Brenner follows.

It's a flatter final run to the line.

Buitrago leads Brenner.

Uphill again in the final metres.

300 to go.

Brenner goes through.

He leads around the final bend.

Finish

Marco Brenner wins stage 14 of the Vuelta a España!

Buitrago second, Rodríguez third, Sosa fourth.

The GC men are just hitting the final 2km. Raúl García Pierna is on the front.

Roglič and Carapaz have dropped!

A big turn on the front by García Pierna.

Gall is with Mas and García Pierna.

No time gaps at the moment.

Gall to the front now.

Roglič leaves Carapaz behind.

Gall and Mas are heading to the final kilometre.

They look to have around 15 seconds on Roglič.

García Pierna back on the front in the final kilometre.

Over three minutes since Brenner finished now.

Into the final 300 metres now.

Gall and Mas sprint uphill.

Gall leads the way.

The duo finish at 4:14 down.

Now we wait.

Roglič crosses the line at around 4:39 down.

It looks like he's lost around 25 seconds to Mas and Gall.

Mas and Gall finished 4:12 down. Roglič lost 25 seconds at 4:37. Carapaz finished a further six seconds back.

Gall leapfrogs Roglič to second overall, four seconds up on the Slovenian.

Brenner celebrates the stage win.

Mas now has 2:06 over Gall and 2:10 over Roglič. Carapaz is fourth overall at 4:24.

Vuelta a España: Marco Brenner fires searing acceleration on final corners of Sierra de la Pandera summit finish for stage 14 win

Race leader Enric Mas holds off multiple attacks in chase group to hold GC lead while Felix Gall moves to second overall

Gall and Mas cross the line together.

Meanwhile, Roglič lost time at the top.

It's another day in red for Enric Mas.

The leadership of the other jerseys remains the same, too, with Santiago Buitrago, Wout van Aert, and Oscar Onley in polka dots, green, and white.

Here's what today's stage winner Marco Brenner had to say about his victory.

“I cannot really believe it,” Brenner said. “Until now I was not feeling like myself, and I was struggling with some sickness early in the race and had a crash. But I really wanted to show myself, but also my teammates who have been working really hard for me the whole time that I can be up there.

“Also today I had two guys with me in the breakaway that did a super job. On the final climb I could actually feel that I have the kick, and I felt better and better throughout the day, and in the end I started believing in it.

“I made the move, and Santiago passed me, but I could catch up, and then in the end I could beat him in the sprint. There’s not many cyclists who achieve a stage within a Grand Tour, and to add this to my palmarès is really amazing.”

Vuelta a España GC standings – Enric Mas still in control while Primož Roglič reliquishes a spot on tough Sierra de la Pandera ascent

Felix Gall only contender not losing more time to Spanish leader on heavy day of climbing in Andalucian mountains

That's all from me today.

Be sure to check the website this evening for more news from the Vuelta, including reaction from Mas, Gall, Brenner, and more.

And come back tomorrow for more live coverage of stage 15.