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Race Result
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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.
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
Here's a look at the snazzy jerseys the Movistar riders have rocked up in for today's stage, to celebrate Mas' overall victory.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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,
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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.
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Stage winner Tobias Halland Johannessen, in front of the striking podium backdrop in Granada.
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King of the Mountains winner Santiago Buitrago.
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White jersey winner Oscar Onley.
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Points classification winner Wout van Aert.
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And finally, the red jersey winner Enric Mas.
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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.
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