CALAR ALTO, Spain (AP) — Enric Mas extended his lead in the Spanish Vuelta after a mountainous 12th stage won by Jakob Omrzel on Thursday.
Mas added to his gap over Primož Roglič when the Movistar leader dropped his Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe rival on a push up the final 10 kilometers (6 miles) to the summit finish. His advantage over Roglič, a four-time Vuelta winner, is now 1 minute, 45 seconds.
Omrzel, a 20-year-old Slovenian cyclist, claimed his first win at a grand tour after shedding his fellow breakaway riders. He won the 166-kilometer (103-mile) stage in four hours, 29 minutes. His nearest chaser crossed the finish line atop the Calar Alto summit nearly two minutes later.
“I am not surprised because I know how much work I have put in, I knew it would happen sooner or later,” Omrzel said. “I am just enjoying the moment.”
The demanding route through the dry and sun-baked southern mountains finished with back-to-back category-one climbs.
The 31-year-old Mas has finished the Vuelta as runner-up on three occasions, in 2018, 2021 and 2022. He is trying to become the first Spanish rider to win the home race since Alberto Contador in 2014.
Mas has led the three-week race since Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar withdrew following a crash on Saturday while wearing the red leader’s jersey.
On Friday, riders will face a hilly 13th stage of 192 kilometers (119 miles) from Almuñécar to Loja.
This year’s Vuelta is entirely in southern Spain and without any of its classic mountain finishes in the country’s greener north. It finishes in Granada on Sept. 13.
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