Omrzel holds firm on the Alto de Calar summit
Jakob Omrzel won stage 12 of the Vuelta on Thursday afternoon. The Bahrain Victorious rider wrapped things up in 4h29’53. No one caught him.
Out in front, he watched the favourites’ bunch claw its way back on the final climb. The gap shrank. He never folded. Urko Berrade (Equipo Kern Pharma) finished second at 1’56. Santiago Buitrago, Omrzel’s Bahrain Victorious team-mate, completed the day’s podium at 2’13.
The Alto de Calar sorted the field out fast. Alexey Lutsenko (NSN Cycling Team) took fourth at 2’49, with Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal Quick-Step) fifth at 2’53.
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Enric Mas keeps stretching the gap
The overall standings didn’t move in the chasers’ favour. Enric Mas once again shook off his rivals on the final climb. The Movistar rider posted the sixth-fastest time on the stage at 2’56 and tightened his grip on the Vuelta lead.
Behind him, the big names all paid the same price. Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM Team), Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) crossed together at 3’23. Gregor Mühlberger followed at 3’50. Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS Cycling) and French rider Léo Bisiaux lost more than five minutes.
Mas is now rolling towards Madrid with a cushion that gets bigger by the day. Nine stages remain.
A Vuelta that changes shape every day
The day before, stage 11 from Cartagena to Lorca went the way of the sprinters. Matthew Brennan took the win ahead of Bryan Coquard and Jordi Meeus. A completely different profile, a completely different pecking order.
This 2026 Tour of Spain is also losing big names along the way. Mads Pedersen had already pulled out before stage 11. The bunch is thinning out, the mountains are here, and Enric Mas is cashing in.
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