Marco Brenner wins stage 14 as Enric Mas extends Vuelta lead over Primoz Roglic

Brenner takes stage victory on La Pandera

German rider Marco Brenner of Tudor won the 14th stage of the Vuelta a España, completing the 154.5-kilometre route from Jaén to the Sierra de la Pandera summit in 4 hours, 15 minutes, and 9 seconds. The mountain stage traversed Jaén province across three categorized climbs, ending with a 12-kilometre final ascent carrying an average gradient of 7.5%. Brenner formed part of the day's successful breakaway group alongside Colombian rider Santiago Buitrago of Bahrain-Victorious, Cristian Rodríguez, and Sosa. With one kilometre remaining before the first-category summit finish, Buitrago launched a solo attack, distancing Rodríguez and Sosa. Brenner chased Buitrago down over the final meters and overtook him in the closing sprint to take the stage win. Portuguese rider João Almeida of UAE Emirates finished 10th on the mountain.

Mas attacks Roglic on the final slopes

In the general classification contest, race leader Enric Mas of Movistar increased his overall advantage on the steepest ramps of La Pandera. Mas absorbed multiple accelerations from Richard Carapaz before launching his own move with two kilometres left to the line. Austrian rider Felix Gall of Decathlon joined the Spanish leader's acceleration as four-time Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe lost contact. Roglic conceded 25 seconds to Mas by the finish line at the summit. The 31-year-old Mas gained time over the 36-year-old Slovenian on the climb, altering the dynamics between the two riders who had contested mountain stages in previous editions of the race.

Standings reshuffled ahead of individual time trial

The stage finish altered the top positions of the general classification heading into the final week of the race. Enric Mas maintained the overall race lead and expanded his advantage over Roglic to 2 minutes and 10 seconds, while El País recorded the gap at 2 minutes and 11 seconds. Felix Gall moved into second place in the standings, trailing Mas by 2 minutes and 6 seconds after matching the Spaniard's attack. The additional 25 seconds gained by Mas provides the Movistar team leader with an expanded buffer ahead of a 32-kilometre individual time trial later in the event. Roglic dropped to third overall after losing ground on the Jaén summit.

Heat concerns for stage 15 into Córdoba

The peloton turns to stage 15 on Sunday, an 189.7-kilometre medium-mountain route running between Palma del Río and Córdoba. High temperatures across the region have prompted race organizers to leave open the possibility of shortening the planned distance. The stage offers terrain suited for breakaway riders before the riders take their second and final rest day of the three-week Grand Tour. Following the rest day, the peloton will begin the third and final week of racing to decide the overall winner of the 2026 Vuelta a España.