Results Vuelta a Espana 2026 Stage 18 | Stefan Kung wins two-second thriller as Enric Mas frustrates Primoz Roglic and Felix Gall loses second on GC

Stefan Kung claimed a fiercely contested victory in the Stage 18 individual time trial at the 2026 Vuelta a Espana, beating surprise package Callum Thornley by just 2.27 seconds in Jerez de la Frontera.

Enric Mas produced a controlled performance behind the stage specialists to retain the red jersey. Primoz Roglic gained only 33 seconds on the Movistar Team leader across the 32.1km course, leaving Mas with an advantage of approximately 1:37 before the final two mountain stages. Roglic finished fourth on the stage and climbed above Felix Gall into second overall. The Austrian conceded almost a minute and a half to the Slovenian, while Oscar Onley strengthened his grip on the white jersey.

The flat route from El Puerto de Santa Maria contained just 190 metres of climbing, placing the emphasis on sustained power across long, exposed roads. Ethan Hayter established the first serious benchmark, but his time was comprehensively overturned by Thornley. The 23-year-old Scot caught Steffen De Schuyteneer, who had started two minutes earlier, and completed the course in 35:25.

Joao Almeida threatened to beat Thornley after beginning strongly, only to lose ground during the closing section and finish almost nine seconds behind the eventual winning time.

Kung then produced the decisive performance. The Tudor Pro Cycling Team rider built his advantage through the middle of the course before Thornley closed rapidly over the final kilometres. Kung reached the finish in 35:22.82, retaining just over two seconds and securing his second Vuelta time-trial stage victory.

Almeida completed the podium at 8.78 seconds, with Roglic fourth at 18.55. Wout van Aert followed less than a second behind Roglic in fifth, ending Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s sequence of three consecutive stage victories.

Roglic began his attempt to overturn Mas’ 2:10 advantage by taking 22 seconds from the race leader over the opening 11.7km. The Slovenian increased that gain to 36 seconds by the second checkpoint, but Mas refused to fade during the final part of the course. The Spaniard recovered approximately three seconds before the finish, completing his effort in 36:14.64 and placing 12th on the stage.

Roglic’s 35:41.37 was not enough to threaten Kung’s victory, but it comfortably carried him above Gall in the general classification. Gall had started the stage four seconds ahead of Roglic. He finished 1:28 behind his rival and 1:47 behind Kung, dropping to third overall at approximately 3:01 from Mas.

Richard Carapaz conceded 1:45 to the stage winner but retained fourth overall. Behind him, Onley finished 15th and gained another 26 seconds on Jakob Omrzel, increasing his white-jersey advantage from 30 to 56 seconds.

Mas will carry an advantage of approximately 1:37 over Roglic into the remaining mountain finishes, with Gall now around 3:01 behind the red jersey.