Vuelta a España Stage 12: Enric Mas Goes Long as ‘Mini-Pogačar’ Omrzel Wins Big

Enric Mas piled on during an endless climb up Calar Alto to tighten his grip on the red jersey Thursday at the Vuelta a España.

Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious) survived out of a big breakaway to win his first grand tour stage.

The 20-year-old Slovenian won the “Baby Giro” last year and moved up to sixth overall at the Vuelta in his grand tour debut.

“I’m not surprised because I know how much work I put in,” Omrzel said. “I knew the big day would come sooner than later. I can believe in what I did. I am enjoying the moment.”

Omrzel became the youngest Slovenian stage winner in a grand tour, younger even than Tadej Pogačar in the 2019 Vuelta. That’s good company to be in.

Omrzel is also the youngest grand tour stage winner since Celestino Prieto in the 1981 edition of La Vuelta, according to race statistics.

The big story in the GC was Movistar and Mas, who took control of the brutally hot and climb-heavy stage. The team played perfect tactics to place riders into the break and then attack to gap their top GC rivals.

“I am happy with the team today. I have to be proud of them,” Mas said. “The extra seconds are important for the week to come. I was confident and I knew the climb, but in the end, it was too long, but I enjoyed it.”

Race leader Mas crossed the line sixth at 2:56 and widened his GC gap to Felix Gall and Primož Roglič, who both crossed the line 27 seconds behind Mas.

Mas now leads time trial threat Roglič by 1:45, with Gall in third at 2:06.

Sepp Kuss slipped back one place, falling to eighth at 7:58 back.

How it happened

The 166.6km stage from Vera to Calar Alto was marked with brutal heat that pushed temperatures into the high 90Fs. Riders went through dozens of water bottles to try to stay cool and hydrated.

Onley crashed early in the stage and he suffered on the seemingly endless climb to Calar Alto to lose two minutes to Mas. The Netcompany-Ineos star finished more than 5 minutes behind the stage winner but he retained the white jersey half a minute ahead of Omrzel.

A big break pulled clear, with Omrzel the top climber in the group that also included UAE’s Kevin Vermaerke.

Mas attacked with 11km to go to gap Gall and Roglič. He and Movistar wanted to send a message and they did.

With 5km to go, Omrzel led alone from the break, 3:44 ahead of race leader Mas. Roglič and Gall followed at 4:20, with Onley dangling at 4:45.

Kuss couldn’t keep pace when Decathlon CMA CGM and lost 3:49 to Mas in the fight for the podium.

What’s next

The 2026 Vuelta continues Friday with the 192.8km 13th stage from Almuñécar to Loja. The stage opens with a first-category climb, so this one is for the stage-hunters.

Two more second-category climbs spice up the long profile across the edges of the Sierra Nevada.

Vuelta a España stage 12 results