Stefan Küng Completes Femur Comeback With Vuelta Stage 18 Win as Enric Mas Saves the Red Jersey

The script for Stage 18 of the Vuelta a España was written weeks ago: Primož Roglič was supposed to roll down the start ramp in El Puerto de Santa Maria, put his head down, and carve chunks out of Enric Mas’s red jersey. Instead, the Spanish race leader ripped up the page.[1][6]

Mas produced the time trial of his life across 32.1 flat, windswept kilometers to Jerez de la Frontera, limiting his losses to the three-time Vuelta champion to just 33 seconds. But while the general classification battle simmered, the stage win delivered one of the most brutal, brilliant comeback stories of the 2026 season.[3][4]

Stefan Küng is back. Pushing a massive 64-tooth chainring, the Tudor Pro Cycling powerhouse stopped the clock at 35:22, averaging a blistering 54.4 km/h. It was enough to edge 23-year-old Scottish revelation Callum Thornley by a razor-thin 2.27 seconds.[2][5][7]

For Küng, the victory is a massive exorcism. Back on February 28, a rain-soaked crash at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad shattered his left femur. The injury required surgery, wiped out his entire spring classics campaign, and sidelined him for 16 weeks. To return to the top step of a Grand Tour podium six months later is a testament to raw, stubborn endurance.[2]

"In the end, it doesn't matter how big of a margin," Küng told reporters at the finish line. "It's a big victory for me, because I've lost plenty of time trials by a few seconds, too. I am so proud of this victory."[2][6]

Thornley, riding for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, had established the benchmark early. The young Scot caught Steffen De Schuyteneer—who had started two minutes ahead of him—and completed the course in 35:25. He sat in the hot seat for hours, watching heavyweights like João Almeida and Wout van Aert fail to match his pace, before Küng finally unseated him.[3][5]

Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) eventually took third on the day, 8.78 seconds back, while Roglič crossed the line in fourth at 18.55 seconds. But all eyes were on the clock ticking down for Mas.[5][7]

Roglič entered the day with a flawless 23-0 head-to-head record against Mas in time trials. With just 190 meters of elevation gain on a course blasted by a strong inland tailwind before turning into a headwind finish, the pure power dynamics heavily favored the Slovenian.[1][5]

Yet Mas, riding in his least-favorite discipline, held his nerve. He crossed the line in 12th place on the stage, 52 seconds behind Küng, but crucially, only 33 seconds behind Roglič. The defensive masterclass means Mas carries a commanding 1:37 overall lead into the final weekend.[3][6]

Behind the top two, the GC deck shuffled. Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) shipped almost a minute and a half to Roglič, dropping from second to third overall, now 3:01 behind Mas. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) held onto fourth, while Oscar Onley (Netcompany-Ineos) strengthened his grip on the white jersey.[4][5][8]

The Vuelta now heads into its defining sequence: two brutal mountain stages in the provinces of Malaga and Granada. Roglič’s team insists the race isn't over, but Mas has survived the exact stage designed to break him. If he holds on through the Sierra Nevada, the red jersey is his.[1][7]