Küng conquers the clock as Mas defends red from Roglic on Vuelta stage 18

Stefan Kǔng (Tudor) powered to victory in the individual time trial on stage 18 of the Vuelta a España, as Enric Mas (Movistar) finished 12th, limiting his losses to Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) to remain in the red jersey.

Küng completed the 32.1km course to Jerez de la Frontera in a time of 35:22, beating Callum Thornley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) by two seconds, with João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in third at eight seconds. 

The race against the clock was set to be a crucial stage in the red jersey contest, with Mas and Roglič separated by 2:10, and Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) a slender four seconds ahead of the Slovenian. 

Roglič was expected to gain time on the duo he trailed, but the ultimate question was: how much? 

In the end, Roglič extended his head-to-head record with Mas in the time trial to 23-0, finishing fourth on the stage, 19 seconds behind Küng. 

However, Roglič was unable to take the red jersey as Mas fought valiantly to limit his losses on the Slovenian to just 33 seconds.

As a result, Roglič now trails Mas by 1:37 in the GC with three stages remaining, while Gall slips to third overall at 3:01 after losing over a minute to Roglič.

Meanwhile, away from the GC contest, the two-time European champion Küng powered to the second Vuelta stage of his career, two years after the first.

It also marks his second victory in the colours of Tudor, adding to his stage victory at the Tour de Pologne in August, in what is a comeback to form after he broke his femur at Omloop Nieuwsblad in February.

Among the fastest early starters were British champion Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) and Callum Thornley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). 

Like the opening stage in Monaco, both produced rapid times, but this time it was Thornley who went 29 seconds quicker to move into the early hot seat. 

The likes of João Almeida, Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), and Bruno Armirail (Visma | Lease a Bike) went quicker than Hayter, but Thornley continued to hold firm in the standings.

That was until former two-time European Champion Stefan Küng narrowly edged Thornley from his lengthy hotseat spell by just three seconds. 

The next challenger home was Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike), but the Belgian was unable to reach the heights of Küng, finishing 19 seconds behind the Swiss rider, provisionally fourth as the GC contenders prepared to begin their efforts.

Roglič was the seventh quickest through the first time check, gaining 22 seconds on both Mas and Gall, who were nearly level on time. 

Through the second checkpoint, Roglič was sixth quickest, gaining 57 seconds on Gall and 36 seconds on Mas, showing that the race leader was up for the fight.