Stage 12 of the Vuelta a España covered 166.6 kilometres from Vera to the summit finish at Calar Alto in Andalusia, featuring 4,475 metres of vertical climbing. A 30-rider breakaway formed early across the mountainous course, including 20-year-old Slovenian neo-pro Jakob Omrzel of Bahrain Victorious, who started the day tenth in the general classification. German riders Lennard Kämna and Marco Brenner featured in the large escape group before losing contact ahead of the final climb. On the 17-kilometre concluding ascent to the 2,151-metre observatory at Calar Alto, which averaged 5.6% with ramps reaching 10%, Omrzel attacked with 11.7 kilometres remaining. Omrzel rode alone through the final kilometres to secure his first WorldTour stage victory, crossing the line 1 minute 56 seconds ahead of Spaniard Urko Berrade, with Santiago Buitrago finishing third. The result established Omrzel as the second-youngest stage winner in Vuelta history, 179 days younger than Tadej Pogačar when he claimed his debut stage in 2019.
The stage victory added to Omrzel's junior and under-23 record, which includes victories at the 2024 Paris-Roubaix Juniors and the 2025 Giro d'Italia Next Gen, alongside a sixth-place overall finish at the senior Tour of the Alps earlier in the year. Omrzel had already placed fourth from the breakaway on stage seven of this race, and his performance on Calar Alto elevated him to sixth in the general classification, 4 minutes 59 seconds behind the leader. Omrzel, who was born in Novo Mesto near the Croatian border, stepped into the spotlight following the withdrawal of compatriot Tadej Pogačar from the race due to an earlier crash. The 20-year-old rider described his feelings after crossing the summit finish line.
“I'm not surprised, because I know how much work I put in, and I knew that this day was going to come sooner or later. But for sure I was not expecting it 100% in the first Grand Tour. I still can't believe what I did, but I felt super good, I'm still feeling OK, I'm not tired. So I'm just enjoying it at the moment.”
Behind the breakaway, the general classification contenders began attacking on the penultimate climb, the 13.1-kilometre Alto de Velefique, where Richard Carapaz launched a move before being caught by the group. British rider Oscar Onley was distanced after suffering an earlier crash, while Felix Gall initiated an attack near the base of Calar Alto. Race leader Enric Mas of Movistar followed the acceleration and countered on a steep ramp, immediately establishing a 20-second gap over Gall and Primož Roglič. Mas then bridged to teammate Raúl García Pierna, who had spent the stage in the breakaway and provided pacing on the intermediate false flat before the final ascent. Mas dropped García Pierna on the final slopes and finished seventh on the stage, 2 minutes 56 seconds behind Omrzel, while gaining 27 seconds on Roglič and Gall.
The 27-second gain expanded Mas's overall advantage in the red jersey to 1 minute 45 seconds over second-placed Roglič, while Gall remained in third at 2 minutes 6 seconds. Carapaz moved into fourth place overall at 3 minutes 53 seconds back, while Irish competitors Eddie Dunbar and Darren Rafferty sat in 50th and 116th places respectively. The peloton faces a 192.8-kilometre route on Friday for stage 13, which includes one category-one and two category-two climbs. The riders then head into another high-altitude test on Saturday with a summit finish at the 1,816-metre Sierra de la Pandera. The race will continue across southern Spain before concluding in Granada on 13 September.
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Slovenian rider Jakob Omrzel claimed a solo breakaway victory on Calar Alto, while race leader Enric Mas expanded his advantage over Primož Roglič to 1 minute 45 seconds.
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