Enric Mas seals first Vuelta for Spain since 2014

Enric Mas has completed a long-awaited Vuelta a España victory.

After three weeks and more than 3,300 kilometres of racing, the 2026 Vuelta a España came to a close on Sunday with Mas (Movistar) crowned the 64th overall winner of the race.

The 31-year-old Spaniard becomes the first rider from Spain to win the Vuelta since Alberto Contador in 2014, finally converting a series of near misses into his first Grand Tour title. Mas had previously finished runner-up three times at the race.

The final stage was raced on a 99.4km circuit around Granada and the Alhambra, with the general classification effectively neutralised when the riders crossed the finish line for the penultimate time.

That left the stage honours up for grabs, and Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) made the most of the opportunity.

The Norwegian attacked as the race entered its final phase before joining a late move with Alessandro Romele (XDS Astana) and Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech). Johannessen then produced the fastest finish in the three-man sprint to take his first Grand Tour stage victory.

Romele was second and Debruyne third.

The result was a particularly satisfying one for Johannessen, who had finished second on the previous day’s summit finish at Collado del Alguacil.

Landa turns back the clock

The decisive stage of the final week came on Saturday, when the race tackled five categorised climbs on the 186.8km route from La Calahorra to the Collado del Alguacil.

Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) produced one of the rides of his career to take a solo victory, attacking clear on the final climb for his first Grand Tour stage win in nine years.

Behind him, Mas successfully defended his red jersey against Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). The Spaniard actually increased his advantage over Roglič to 2:15, with Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) third overall at 2:44.

Sepp Kuss was another big mover on the stage, jumping into fifth overall.

That left Mas with a comfortable buffer heading into the largely ceremonial final day, although the Granada circuit provided plenty of action among the stage hunters.

Overall, the 2026 Vuelta certainly had its share of twists and turns. Pogačar looked to be in control early on, but his withdrawal after a crash on stage eight opened the door for Enric Mas and turned the GC battle on its head.

Mas took over the red jersey and followed it up with a stage win at Aitana, although Roglič and the other contenders were never far away.

There was plenty of action away from the GC, too, with Wout van Aert and Matthew Brennan picking up multiple stage wins. British rider Brennan in particular had a breakout race, while the final week brought plenty of climbing, heat and nervous moments for the overall contenders.

By the time the race reached Granada, Mas had done enough to hold off his rivals and finally get his hands on that elusive Grand Tour victory.

Australians finish strongly

Jack Haig was the best-placed Australian in the final general classification, finishing 24th overall, 1:21:35 behind winner Enric Mas. Callum Scotson was next in 38th, with Luke Tuckwell 46th.

Rudy Porter finished 56th, followed by Lucas Hamilton in 84th, Nick Schultz in 107th, Oscar Chamberlain in 114th and Alistair Mackellar in 123rd.

Tuckwell was also Australia’s highest finisher in the young riders classification, while the Australian contingent saw Kaden Groves, Jay Vine and Hamish McKenzie leave the race before the finish.

The jerseys

Mas took the red jersey, while Van Aert completed a dominant Vuelta by winning the points classification. The Belgian became the 13th rider from his country to take the green jersey.

Buitrago won the mountains classification, becoming the fifth Colombian to claim the competition.

And Oscar Onley finished his breakthrough Vuelta by taking the young riders classification.