A whole country watches Enric Mas: schedule, route and key points of the stage that will decide La Vuelta 2026

La Vuelta a España 2026 faces its last great mountain battle this Saturday. Enric Mas arrives at the decisive day with 1:37 over Primož Roglič and 3:01 over Felix Gall, but he will have to overcome a stage with more than 5,000 meters of elevation gain and a finish at the grueling Collado del Alguacil before he can really start thinking about winning his first grand tour.

La Vuelta a España 2026 is decided in stage 20: route, schedule, and key points

• Date: Saturday, September 12
• Start: La Calahorra
• Finish: Collado del Alguacil
• Distance: 186.8 km
• Type: high mountain
• Elevation gain: 5,041 m+
• Start: around 12:30-12:36
• Expected arrival: 17:16-17:47
• Puerto de Blancares: 3rd category
• Puerto de El Purche: 1st category, two ascents
• Puerto de El Duque: 1st category
• Collado del Alguacil: special category, finish at altitude
• General: Mas leads Roglič by 1:37 and Gall by 3:01
• Key: Roglič's last chance to change La Vuelta before Granada

Route of stage 20 of La Vuelta a España 2026

The organization has reserved one of the toughest days of the entire race with 186.8 kilometers and 5,041 meters of positive elevation gain for the penultimate day of La Vuelta.

The route had to be modified after some landslides forced the removal of the Alto de Hazallanas. Instead, the Puerto de El Duque was included for the first time in La Vuelta, keeping the originally planned difficulty practically intact.

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The mountain will progressively gain importance. After the Puerto de Blancares, there will be a first ascent to El Purche, which will be climbed again later, before tackling the Puerto de El Duque. Its summit will be located just over 30 kilometers from the finish, so any serious attack before the last climb could turn the finish into a completely open race.

And there will still be the Collado del Alguacil, which will debut as a finish in La Vuelta and will be the last great judge of this edition with its 8.3 km at 9.8%.

The most important day for Enric Mas

After Peñas Blancas, the situation has not changed among the top three. Enric Mas remains in the lead, Primož Roglič is 1:37 behind, and Felix Gall is 3:01 behind.

But this time the scenario will be very different. The Collado del Alguacil is much tougher and reaches almost 1900 meters in altitude after more than 5,000 meters of elevation gain, so the differences could be considerably greater if any of the favorites goes into crisis.

Roglič can no longer wait. The Slovenian needs to recover 1:37, and this will practically be his last opportunity to do so. Gall also doesn't have much to hold back; he is 3:01 behind Mas and needs to recover 1:24 on Roglič to return to second place. For Mas, on the other hand, the goal will be to hold on.

And it will also be an especially important day for Spanish cycling. If Enric Mas overcomes this last great mountain stage while maintaining the lead, he will arrive at the final day in Granada with La Vuelta practically secured. Spain has not won its grand tour since Alberto Contador in 2014, so the Mallorcan has the chance to end a twelve-year wait.

Favorites to win stage 20

Enric Mas is one of the main favorites if the general classification men end up contesting the victory. So far, he has been the most solid rider in the mountains, and Movistar also has riders like Pablo Castrillo and Raúl García Pierna to play tactically during such a long day.

Primož Roglič will have to approach the race very differently than at Peñas Blancas. An attack within the last kilometer will hardly be enough to recover 1:37, so Red Bull-BORA could try to harden the stage from quite early on.

The route also seems especially favorable for Felix Gall, while Richard Carapaz is once again one of the men from whom a long-range move can be expected.

If a breakaway gains enough margin, many candidates emerge. Santiago Buitrago stands out again after finishing second at Peñas Blancas, along with names like Jarno Widar, Marco Brenner, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Urko Berrade, Sepp Kuss, João Almeida, Pello Bilbao, or Mikel Landa.

But this time the very situation of the general classification could work against the breakaway. Roglič needs to blow up the race, and Mas will have to respond, so there is a real possibility that the victory will also be decided among the big favorites.

Stage 20 will be the last great mountain stage of La Vuelta 2026. For Roglič, it represents the last opportunity to change the race; for Mas, the final eight kilometers could separate him from making history for Spanish cycling.