Spanish cyclist Enric Mas wins the 2026 Vuelta a España
Spanish cyclist Enric Mas claimed the overall victory in the 2026 Vuelta a España, finishing in the peloton on the final, 21st stage to Granada. For the 31-year-old Movistar rider, this is his first Grand Tour title, ABC News Australia reports.
Norwegian Tobias Johannessen won the final stage. In the overall standings, Mas finished 2 minutes and 15 seconds ahead of four-time Vuelta winner Primož Roglič. Austrian Felix Gall took third place, 2 minutes and 44 seconds behind the champion.
First Spanish victory since 2014
Mas became the first Spaniard to win the Vuelta since 2014, when Alberto Contador triumphed. Previously, the Mallorca-born athlete finished second three times in the home stage race — in 2018, 2021 and 2022. In 2024, he took third place.
After the race, Mas called the victory special and said the team was pleased with the calm completion of the final stage despite the tension of the last day.
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Pogačar withdraws from the race
The main favorite of the race was Slovenian Tadej Pogačar, a five-time Tour de France winner. After the seventh stage, he held a lead of 3 minutes and 50 seconds and had won three of the six stages completed at that point. However, during the eighth stage, Pogačar suffered a serious crash, broke his collarbone and sustained a neck fracture, ending his season.
After that, Mas, who tested Pogačar on the mountainous fourth stage in Andorra, dominated the race together with the Movistar team. Contador told Spanish newspaper AS that Mas's victory was not a gift, but the result of his work and form.
Colombian Santiago Buitrago of Bahrain Victorious won the mountains classification. Briton Oscar Onley claimed the white jersey for the best young rider, while Wout van Aert won the points classification and received the award for the most active rider.
