'It's impossible to win the Vuelta without suffering' - Mas rides out storm to seal victory

The Movistar rider endured an early scare when he was caught on the wrong side of a split, but he looked altogether more comfortable once the road began to climb on stage 20. He tracked the moves of Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) on the double ascent of El Purche, and he looked in control on the final climb.

Although Mas was distanced by Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) on the upper portion of the Collado del Alguacil, he kept the Austrian in sight, and his red jersey was never under any threat. He will be Spain’s first Vuelta winner since Alberto Contador scored his third and final triumph in 2014.

Mas carries a lead of 2:15 on Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and 2:44 on Gall into the final day, having held the jersey for more than two weeks following the abandon of pre-race favourite Tadej Pogačar.

The world champion’s departure blew the Vuelta wide open, but Mas looked in total control, starting with his win atop the Alto de Aitana on stage 9. He insisted on Saturday, however, that his triumph had not been without difficulty.

“There were difficult moments, that’s for sure,” Mas said in the post-stage press conference. “I don’t know, because I can only talk about what I’ve experienced firsthand, but I think it’s impossible to win the Vuelta without suffering. 

“There have been some very tough moments, where I’ve been pushed to the limit for a long time, but thanks to my team and, well, thanks to my many years of experience, I’ve managed to turn these moments around.”

Indeed, Mas’ entire Vuelta has marked a dramatic turnaround after two trying years since his last podium finish in 2024. His 2025 season ended early due to varicose vein surgery, and he endured a disappointing Giro d’Italia debut in May.

Mas rebooted his season by sitting out the Tour de France and training at altitude, and there were encouraging signs in the opening week of the Vuelta, most notably when he caught Pogacar on the climb of Puerto El Bartolo on stage 6. But despite that encouraging start, Mas refused to make predictions about how his race might pan out.

“We weren’t looking too far ahead,” Mas said. “We knew I was in great shape, but we didn’t really know whether I was in with a chance of a podium finish or not. Training had gone very well and since the Giro, everything seemed to be on the right track. 

“But when we said we were taking it day by day, we weren’t just playing it safe, far from it. Psychologically, I had to deal with it that way. And look, we took it one day at a time and everything turned out perfectly.”

It remains to be seen if the final stage will count towards the general classification, though Mas was coy when asked about the discussions that have been taking place between teams and the race organisation regarding the Granada finale.

“I’ve been focusing on today, I don’t know anything about that,” said Mas, who also shrugged off questions about what his first Grand Tour victory would mean for his future ambitions. “Let me enjoy the Vuelta, and we’ll talk about next year in a month’s time, please.”