Stage 12 of the Vuelta a Espana delivered another explosive showdown, with Jakob Omrzel taking victory from the breakaway at Calar Alto. The young Slovenian produced the biggest win of his career and also made a significant move in the general classification. Behind him, Enric Mas strengthened his grip on the red jersey after another Movistar tactical masterclass.

After a rapid and aggressive start, a breakaway of around 30 riders eventually formed. It included Wout Van Aert, João Almeida, Santiago Buitrago and Omrzel, who started the day tenth overall and posed a serious threat to the riders ahead of him. The group built a maximum advantage of around seven minutes, while several teams placed riders in the move to support their leaders later in the stage.

On the final climb, Omrzel, Buitrago, Urko Berrade and Léo Bisiaux emerged as the strongest riders at the front. Omrzel eventually dropped Berrade in the closing kilometres and rode alone to his second professional victory and his first at WorldTour level, achieved on one of the most important stages of the race.

In the general classification battle, Decathlon increased the pace before Felix Gall attacked. Enric Mas and Primoz Roglic immediately followed, but Mas then launched his own move on the steepest section. The red jersey opened a gap and later linked up with teammate Raúl García Pierna, whose support helped him preserve his advantage. Roglic and Gall received support too late, allowing Mas to gain more time on his main rivals.

Carlos Silva of CyclingUpToDate was highly satisfied with the spectacle provided by stage 12 of the Vuelta a Espana. He praised Movistar’s tactics but once again questioned the decisions made by Decathlon CMA CGM Team and Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe.

What a great stage and a fantastic day of cycling. Without a doubt, this was one of the best stages of this Vuelta a Espana so far.

The opening hour was raced at an incredibly high speed, with a fierce and intense battle to get into the breakaway. Eventually, a group of around 30 riders managed to escape and built an advantage of more than seven minutes over the peloton.

UAE Team Emirates - XRG and Uno-X Mobility were the teams with the most riders in the breakaway, but it was Bahrain Victorious, with two riders, who reaped the biggest rewards by the end of the day.

Bahrain were perhaps the big winners of the day. Santiago Buitrago did not manage to win any of the mountain classifications, but he continues to collect points here and there, which allows him to keep dreaming of the polka-dot jersey.

If Bahrain were among the winners, Movistar Team must also be included. Movistar played their cards perfectly by sending two riders into the breakaway. After Enric Mas attacked, Raul Garcia Pierna dropped back and provided excellent support for the Spanish rider and red jersey.

Mas eventually gained time on all his rivals. Following Tadej Pogacar’s withdrawal, there is no doubt in my mind that Enric Mas is the strongest rider in this Vuelta.

I have to point out some major mistakes from Decathlon and Red Bull today. Both Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and Decathlon should have ordered their riders in the breakaway to drop back earlier. They were no longer in contention for the stage victory and would have been far more useful supporting their leaders behind.

Leo Bisiaux took far too long to drop back when Felix Gall was unable to follow Enric Mas and received no help from Roglic. By the time he and Luke Tuckwell returned to the group containing their leaders, they were able to help, but were unable to take time back from Mas. Instead, they lost more time at the finish.

For that reason, both teams must be considered among the losers of the day. They had riders up the road but failed to make proper use of that advantage.

The battle for the overall victory now appears to be almost decided. Behind Mas, I expect a fight between Roglic and Gall for the remaining podium places.

Oscar Onley is completely out of the equation for the general classification and must now pay close attention to the battle for the white jersey. Stage winner Jakob Omrzel is only 30 seconds behind him. The 20-year-old is suddenly a serious threat.

Tomorrow brings another long and very demanding stage, which will probably suit the breakaway. It also opens a weekend in which I can expect cycling at the highest level.

Jorge Borreguero of CiclismoAlDia closely followed one of the toughest stages of his home Grand Tour and shared his thoughts after the finish.

Until today, Enric Mas could defend the red jersey as a leader who was taking advantage of a favourable race situation. At Calar Alto, he showed much more: he was the rider who broke the race apart. When Felix Gall attacked and only Mas and Primoz Roglic could respond, the Spaniard was already showing that he had the legs. But instead of settling for following their wheels, he decided to attack the two riders immediately behind him in the general classification. That carries enormous value.

Movistar Team deserve particular praise. Ivan Romeo’s performance on the Alto de Velefique was probably just as important as Mas’ subsequent attack. When Richard Carapaz went clear, the team did not panic. Romeo took responsibility, closed the gap and allowed Mas to reach the decisive part of the stage with the situation under control. Raul Garcia Pierna then appeared after spending the day in the breakaway and became a luxury domestique for his leader.

The image of Mas catching Garcia Pierna with nine kilometres remaining and finding a teammate waiting to work for him perfectly summed up Movistar’s stage. It was not a team victory because Jakob Omrzel won the stage, but tactically it was an extraordinary performance.

Another detail was perhaps even more important: Mas was alone with six kilometres remaining and continued to push. He was not simply trying to preserve the 10, 15 or 20 seconds he had gained. He was searching for more time. That demonstrated a level of ambition we may not have seen from the Movistar rider during his previous Grand Tours.

However, we should not conclude that Enric Mas has already won the Vuelta. Roglic is still Roglic, Gall remains in contention, and there is still plenty of climbing and the individual time trial to come.

Ruben Silva of CyclingUpToDate shared his opinion after watching one of the toughest stages of the current edition of the Vuelta a Espana.

An interesting stage, with brutal climbs and terrain for there to be tactical racing. And we got it, once again. The final climb was very hard at first, and then featured several kilometers with some flat sections and descents where teammates were absolutely crucial. All GC teams knew they had to put men up there, no exception - either to attack or defend themselves.

Yet there were different uses amongst teams, or rather, different timings. Lidl-Trek did not do something whilst EF planned but couldn't execute their attack. Red Bull only has one climber to support Primoz Roglic but he did come handy.

Then there's Movistar, who had two and they were used to perfection - specially with Pierna guiding the attacking Mas through that rolling section; and Decathlon who only had one, who only briefly assisted Gall who had been dropped.

Today I cast serious criticism over Decathlon. Whilst Bisiaux ultimately getting stopped did limit the losses, it was done relatively late. But the main point is not that.

Entering the final climb, Decathlon had four riders against Movistar's three (two would be dropped very quickly) and several of his rivals who were isolated. Decathlon then led out Felix Gall, who attacked.

If the difference was certain to be made, it's a valid tactic. But what we saw was Bisiaux given space to fight for the win, and only being pulled back when that proved to be impossible and Gall needed him.

But the team had three domestiques with Gall at the key moment, which was not necessary, whilst these men would be mighty precious if they were at the head of the race at first. Matthew Riccitello for example was there but did not even work, rendering him useless in a day where he could be valuable out front. It's not like it was hard to put men in front either, with around 30 of them.

Tactics out of the way, we see another massive display by Enric Mas. In red, with a team that is fully backing him up, the Spaniard increases his lead and I must say I hope he takes the win at the end, it would be very well deserved and he is delivering in the way I hoped to have seen earlier in his career.

Gall is ok, but not making the difference like at the Giro, and Decathlon seriously have to rethink their tactics. Primoz Roglic continues to survive the mountainous days and the gap to Mas allows him to also dream of a victory taking into consideration the time trial ahead.

Richard Carapaz brave as always and respectable; Oscar Onley perhaps losing his chance to win the race after having crashed earlier in the day; and Jakob Omrzel netting a perfect win for Bahrain in a day where they fully commited to the breakaway and had everything going to perfection for them.

The verdict is unanimous: stage 12 was one of the finest days of racing in this Vuelta a Espana and represented a defining moment for Enric Mas. Until Calar Alto, the Spaniard had defended the red jersey convincingly, but this time he took control of the race himself. He responded to Felix Gall’s attack before leaving both Gall and Primoz Roglic behind, continuing to chase seconds even after finding himself alone.

Mas’ performance cannot be separated from Movistar Team’s tactical masterclass. Ivan Romeo controlled the situation on the Alto de Velefique and neutralised Richard Carapaz’s attack, while Raul Garcia Pierna provided crucial assistance after dropping back from the breakaway. Movistar anticipated the demands of the finale and used their riders at exactly the right moments.

The contrast with Decathlon CMA CGM Team and Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe was clear. Both had riders in the breakaway who could have been brought back earlier to support their leaders. Decathlon, in particular, failed to make full use of its numerical strength, leaving Leo Bisiaux’s return too late to make a meaningful difference. While Gall and Roglic limited their losses, neither could match Mas when the red jersey launched his decisive attack.

Jakob Omrzel and Bahrain-Victorious were the other major winners. The young Slovenian claimed an outstanding stage victory and emerged as a genuine threat in the white jersey battle, while Santiago Buitrago added more points to his mountains classification tally. Mas may now look like the strongest rider in the race, but the Vuelta is not yet won. Roglic remains within striking distance with an individual time trial still to come, Gall remains in the podium fight and plenty of difficult climbing lies ahead.