Results Vuelta a España 2026 stage 12 - Enric Mas boosts red jersey lead as Jakob Omrzel wins at Calar Alto

Stage 12 of the Vuelta a España has led to another explosive showdown. At Calar Alto, Jakob Omrzel has won the race from the breakaway whilst climbing up the Top10. Meanwhile in the fight for the overall win, Enric Mas attacked the race and put further time into his rivals due to a Movistar masterclass.

The beginning of the stage was quite fast, with plenty attacks from riders trying to form a breakaway. Eventually a group of around 30 riders went up the road, including Wout Van Aert who would extend his lead in the points classification; Santiago Buitrago who would extend his lead in the KOM classification; and Jakob Omrzel - 10th on GC at the start of the stage, and a major threat to those ahead of him.

With the gap having grown to a maximum of 7 minutes, the Bahrain - Vcitorious rider almost jumped into the provisional lead halfway through the stage. The summit finish at Calar Alto featured a very hard start and then roller-coaster gradients, which meant that Movistar, Decathlon, Red Bull, INEOS and EF all had riders in the breakaway so as to potentially provide support in the finale.

Movistar controlled the stage behind, having a gentle pace until the Alto de Velefique where Iván Romeo took control of the peloton, which quickly began losing riders. Richard Carapaz launched a hard attack on the ascent, but the pace of the Movistar rider behind closed down the move.

Out front a few attacks would show glimpses of who was strongest, but without making the difference. On the final climb, Jakob Omrzel, Santiago Buitrago, Urko Berrade and Léo Bisiaux were the strongest out front and would go on to fight for the stage win.

But the Slovenian, despite his efforts in the race, pulled clear in the final kilometers, dropping Berrade who was the last survivor of the tough pace out front. Omrzel has taken the second win of his career, but the first at World Tour level and right on one of the race's most important stages.

Behind, Decathlon picked up the pace on the final climb, quickly decimating it. Felix Gall then attacked, dropping the field but being answered by Enric Mas and Primoz Roglic. Gall continued to lead the group until Mas attacked still in the hardest section of the ascent.

The red jersey made the difference and then linked up with Raúl García Pierna for the transitional part of the climb, effectively resting, and allowing him to maintain the time he had gained on his rivals. Behind, both Roglic and Gall had support join them, but later on. It wasn't enough to bring the gap down, whilst Richard Carapaz joined the duo on the way to the finish line.