There are only three stages left until the end of the Vuelta a España, and this Thursday saw one of the most decisive days of the competition: a 32-kilometer individual time trial between El Puerto de Santa María and Jerez de la Frontera. Swiss rider Stefan Küng was the big winner of this stage, demonstrating excellent time-trial performance.
Spaniard Enric Mas took a fundamental step toward conquering the Vuelta by achieving a very positive result in this time-trial stage. The Mallorcan cyclist lost only 33 seconds to Slovenian Primoz Roglic, which allowed him to maintain the overall classification lead with a comfortable advantage.
Primoz Roglic finished the stage in second place and now sits 1 minute and 37 seconds behind Enric Mas in the overall standings. This difference represents a significant margin for the Balearic Islands rider, who is closer than ever to being crowned champion of the Vuelta a España.
With only three stages remaining after this decisive time trial, Enric Mas positions himself as the big favorite to win the race next Sunday, while Roglic will have few opportunities to recover the lost time in what remains of the competition.
