What's happened
Enric Mas has extended his lead on the penultimate Vuelta stage, with a 47-second gap over Primoz Roglic. Landa wins the stage; Mas is on track to claim his first Grand Tour title if he stays upright in Granada.
What's behind the headline?
Analysis
- Mas has built a robust GC cushion as the mountain stage nears completion; Roglic and Carapaz fail to shift the balance on the final climbs.
- Landa’s stage victory highlights the depth within Movistar’s squad as Mas maintains a steady advantage.
- The final 112km in Granada will determine whether Mas seals Spain’s biggest race, potentially ending a long wait since Contador in 2014.
- If Mas finishes upright, the win could reshape national cycling pride and marketability for Spanish cycling talents in the coming season.
How we got here
The Vuelta a España runs through Spain, with stages tracing routes from La Calahorra to Granada. Mas has led since Pogacar crashed on stage eight, putting him in a strong position to win his first Grand Tour title after multiple near-misses.
Our analysis
BBC Sport reports stage results and GC; The Guardian provides additional context on stage dynamics and Mas’s lead; BBC confirms Landa’s breakaway success and Roglic’s attempts to close the gap.
Go deeper
- Will Mas’s lead hold on the final day?
- Which rider could challenge Mas if a late attack emerges on the Granada stage?
- How might this victory reshape Mas’s career next season?
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Enric Mas - Spanish cyclist
Enric Mas Nicolau is a Spanish racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Movistar Team. He is a talented climber, and has finished in top 10 in prestigious world tour stage races, and has also won a stage at the Tour of the Basque Country.
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Richard Carapaz - Ecuadorian bicycle racer
Richard Antonio Carapaz Montenegro (born 29 May 1993) is an Ecuadorian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Ineos Grenadiers. In June 2019, Carapaz won the 2019 Giro d'Italia, becoming the first Ecuadorian rider to win the race. He is nicknamed.
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Granada - Municipality and capital of the province of Granada, Spain
Granada ( grə-NAH-də; Spanish: [ɡɾaˈnaða] ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of four rivers, the Darro, the Genil, the Monachil and the Beiro. Ascribed to the Vega de Granada comarca, the city sits at an average elevation of 738 m (2,421 ft) above sea level 50 km from the Mediterranean coast, the Costa Tropical. With a population of 233,532 as of 2024, it is the 20th-largest city in Spain and is an important wine growing region. Nearby is the Sierra Nevada Ski Station, where the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1996 were held. Its nearest airport is Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén Airport. The area was settled since ancient times by Iberians, Romans, and Visigoths. The current settlement became a major city of Al-Andalus in the 11th century during the Zirid Taifa of Granada. In the 13th century it became the capital of the Emirate of Granada under Nasrid rule, the last Muslim-ruled state in the Iberian Peninsula. Granada was conquered in 1492 by the Catholic Monarchs and progressively transformed into a Christian city over the course of...