Enric Mas strengthens his lead at La Pandera: Brenner wins and Roglič drops to third

The Sierra de la Pandera confirmed two realities in this Vuelta a España 2026. The first, that breakaways still have space to contest important victories. The second, and surely more relevant for the race, that Enric Mas continues to show no cracks when the road gets really serious. Marco Brenner took a spectacular stage 14 after defeating Santiago Buitrago in the final meters, while the leader controlled his rivals and ended up gaining another 25 seconds on Primož Roglič.

The big beneficiary of those seconds was Felix Gall, who crossed the finish line alongside Mas and managed to overtake the Slovenian to become the new second-placed rider in La Vuelta.

Marco Brenner overtakes Buitrago and wins in the Sierra de la Pandera

The 154.5-kilometer stage between Jaén and the Sierra de la Pandera began with a very intense fight to form the breakaway. Finally, a huge group of more than 40 riders consolidated, including Santiago Buitrago, João Almeida, Marco Brenner, Cristian Rodríguez, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Jørgen Nordhagen, Filippo Zana, and Kevin Vermaerke.

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Movistar allowed the gap to grow, although the presence of some riders relatively well-placed in the general classification forced Enric Mas's team to maintain some vigilance.

Buitrago also had another objective. The Colombian wanted to continue reinforcing his lead in the mountains against Wout van Aert and took advantage of the stage to increase his points tally.

As they approached the decisive part, Kevin Vermaerke tried to anticipate taking advantage of the descent before the Puerto de Locubín. His move allowed him to build more than a minute over his former breakaway companions, but the final slopes would end up putting everything in its place.

The race definitively broke apart upon reaching the succession formed by the wall of Valdepeñas and the Sierra de la Pandera.

Georg Steinhauser was one of the first to try, while behind, the strongest men from the breakaway began to be selected. Buitrago, Brenner, Cristian Rodríguez, Iván Sosa, and Paret-Peintre gained positions as the gradient increased.

Three kilometers from the finish, Buitrago seemed to have the stage in his hands. The Colombian left Brenner behind in one of the most demanding sections and opened a gap that seemed sufficient. But the German did not give up.

Brenner managed to regain ground and caught up with Buitrago about two kilometers from the summit. Rodríguez and Sosa also got close, and the victory remained open until the final ramps.

Buitrago launched one last move within the final kilometer, and Brenner was the only one able to respond. The Colombian then forced the German to take the lead before the sprint, a situation that ultimately played in favor of the Tudor rider.

Marco Brenner accelerated in the final meters, and Buitrago could no longer surpass him. The German thus conquered one of the most prestigious finishes of this Vuelta with just a second advantage over the Colombian.

Enric Mas controls La Pandera and gains time again

The battle for the stage was unfolding several minutes ahead, but behind, an even more important race was taking place.

Movistar had placed Pablo Castrillo and Raúl García Pierna in the breakaway to later use them as support for Enric Mas, a strategy that proved particularly useful when the selection left the leader practically without teammates in the toughest part of La Pandera.

Decathlon CMA CGM tried again to harden the race for Felix Gall, although this time the Austrian waited until the final kilometers to make his moves.

Richard Carapaz also showed an offensive approach, and Mas launched an initial acceleration that eliminated, among others, Mattias Skjelmose. However, the leader did not need to make one of the prolonged attacks we saw in Calar Alto. This time, he only needed to control.

Gall accelerated several times, but Mas always responded with apparent ease, while Roglič and Carapaz began to show more difficulties. The definitive selection came in the last really tough kilometer. Gall maintained the pace, Mas continued on his wheel, and Roglič and Carapaz could no longer follow them.

Raúl García Pierna, who had waited from the breakaway, was still able to work for his leader in the final meters before Gall and Mas crossed the finish line together. Roglič ultimately conceded 25 seconds to both.

The result changes the order of the provisional podium. Gall, who started the day 2:06 behind Mas, maintains that difference and moves up to second place, while Roglič, who was 1:45 behind, is now approximately 2:10 after losing those 25 seconds.

Beyond the numbers, Mas draws another favorable conclusion from another great mountaintop finish: his rivals attack, but none can shake him off. In Aitana he won, in Calar Alto he was clearly superior, and in La Pandera he again finished ahead of one of his main adversaries without even needing to take the initiative.

Top 10 of stage 14 of La Vuelta a España 2026

1. Marco Brenner (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) — 4:15:09
2. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) — +0:01
3. Cristián Rodríguez (XDS Astana Team) — +0:11
4. Iván Sosa (Equipo Kern Pharma) — +0:14
5. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) — +0:22
6. Clément Berthet (Groupama-FDJ United) — +0:27
7. Jørgen Nordhagen (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) — +0:39
8. Filippo Zana (Soudal Quick-Step) — +0:43
9. Walter Calzoni (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) — +1:06
10. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) — +1:09

Top 10 of the general classification after stage 14

1. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) — 49:28:12
2. Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) — +2:06
3. Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) — +2:10
4. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) — +4:24
5. Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS) — +5:44
6. Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious) — +6:14
7. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) — +6:49
8. Cristián Rodríguez (XDS Astana Team) — +7:01
9. Clément Berthet (Groupama-FDJ United) — +7:19
10. Sepp Kuss (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) — +8:55