La Pandera puts Enric Mas’s lead to the test in La Vuelta stage 14: Roglič and Gall need to attack

The 2026 Vuelta a España once again puts the general classification men face to face in stage 14. After a day favorable to breakaways towards Loja, the race will reach the Sierra de la Pandera, one of the most well-known climbs of the Spanish round and a terrain particularly suitable to see if Enric Mas can continue to extend his lead over Primož Roglič and Felix Gall. The route accumulates around 4,000 meters of elevation gain and concentrates all its difficulty in a second half that practically offers no rest.

Stage 14 of the 2026 Vuelta a España: Jaén – Sierra de la Pandera

• Date: Saturday, September 5
• Start: Jaén
• Finish: Sierra de la Pandera
• Distance: 154.5 km
• Type: mountain
• Start: 13:33 h
• Estimated finish: 17:19-17:44 h
• Puerto de los Villares: 10.4 km at 5.5%
• Puerto de Locubín: 8.8 km at 5%
• Sierra de la Pandera: 8.4 km at 7.8%
• General classification leader: Enric Mas
• Second: Primož Roglič, at 1:45
• Third: Felix Gall, at 2:06

A stage with all the difficulty concentrated before La Pandera

The stage will start in Jaén and from practically the first kilometers will advance through broken terrain. There will be no major climbs during the first half, but also not too many truly flat kilometers, so it will be a day of wear before reaching the decisive ascents.

The first categorized climb will be the Puerto de los Villares, with 10.4 kilometers at 5.5%. Its summit will still be more than 60 kilometers from the finish, so it is unlikely to be the scene of definitive moves among the favorites, but it can serve to select the breakaway and start to punish the peloton.

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After descending and crossing another stretch of constantly undulating roads, the Puerto de Locubín will arrive, 8.8 kilometers at 5%. It does not present extreme percentages either, but it appears within the last 30 kilometers and links almost directly with the truly complicated part of the day.

After passing through Valdepeñas de Jaén, one of the most explosive points of the route will appear, with ramps reaching 23% before facing the Sierra de la Pandera. It will be there that the stage begins to turn into a succession of efforts with hardly any recovery.

The final ascent to La Pandera presents 8.4 kilometers at 7.8%, but its irregularity makes it considerably more demanding than the average indicates. There are very tough sections and a kilometer that hovers around 12% average gradient, before a peculiar last kilometer where there is a slight descent and the road rises again towards the finish.

La Pandera has been the scene of some of the most well-known days of La Vuelta. Richard Carapaz won here in 2022, while previously riders like Roberto Heras, Alejandro Valverde, Damiano Cunego, or Rafał Majka also raised their arms.

Enric Mas is once again the reference, with Roglič and Gall forced to move

Enric Mas arrives at this stage in an increasingly solid position. The Mallorcan inherited the leadership after Tadej Pogačar's withdrawal, but since then he has shown that the red jersey is not simply a consequence of that fall. He won at the Alto de Aitana and was again the strongest among the favorites at Calar Alto, where he ended up gaining 27 seconds on his main rivals.

He now has 1:45 over Primož Roglič and 2:06 over Felix Gall, but the margin still does not allow for managing the race. Especially since the 32.1-kilometer time trial of stage 18 is still pending, a terrain where Roglič should start with an advantage over Mas. The Spaniard therefore has reasons to try to continue increasing the differences in the mountains.

La Pandera also seems to be a particularly suitable climb for Roglič. It is not excessively long, contains very steep ramps, and allows for changes of pace, characteristics that have historically fit very well with the four-time Vuelta winner. His preparation was affected by the accident he suffered before the race, but he has managed to stay in second place and continues to have the general classification within reach.

Felix Gall is even more compelled to take advantage of this type of stage. The Austrian has been one of the most aggressive riders in the race, and Decathlon CMA CGM has made several stages tougher for him, although so far he has not managed to turn that work into differences in his favor. The time trial also does not play in his favor, so La Pandera represents an important opportunity to try to gain time before the third week.

Behind them are Richard Carapaz and Oscar Onley. The Ecuadorian is fourth at 3:53 and has already shown that he does not need to wait until the last kilometer to attack. Moreover, it was precisely Carapaz who won the last stage of La Vuelta that finished at La Pandera in 2022. Onley is in fifth place at 4:29 and still has podium options, although he will have to make up ground after losing time at Calar Alto.

Another name that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore is Jakob Omrzel. At just 20 years old, the Slovenian won at Calar Alto and is already in sixth place in the general classification at 4:59. He is competing in his first grand tour, but his performance so far forces him to be included among the riders capable of being at the front in another high mountain finish.

The breakaway can also play an important role again. Santiago Buitrago, the mountain leader, will have reasons to seek points from the climbs, while riders like Jarno Widar, Sepp Kuss, Urko Berrade, Tobias Halland Johannessen, Lorenzo Fortunato, Mikel Landa, or Valentin Paret-Peintre already have enough disadvantage in the general classification to receive more freedom.

What seems less likely is that the podium men will grant each other another truce. La Pandera is the last high finish of this second week, and Mas needs time before the time trial, while Roglič and Gall need to start cutting into it. Everything points to a day with two simultaneous races: the possible fight of the breakaway for victory and, a few minutes later, another direct confrontation for the red jersey.