Granada was decked in red after Enric Mas brought home the Vuelta a España glory for the very first time in his cycling career on Sunday.
A total of 184 riders tested their luck and grit to try and tame all 3,275 kilometres of La Vuelta, regarded as this year’s steepest Grand Tour and one of the toughest in its history.
Heat, hail and heartbreak filled three weeks of action, but Team Movistar’s Mas weathered all those challenges to take the title in a stunning redemption victory not just for himself but also for Spain.
Mas takes La Vuelta, finally
Tadej Pogacar’s presence brought a challenging prospect for this year’s edition as he aimed to complete all Grand Tour titles himself next to his rival, Jonas Vingegaard, who completed his during the Giro d’Italia earlier this year.
But a horror crash forced the Slovenian to abandon the race during the first week of the tour, blowing the fight for La Roja wide open.
Mas, who had been second in the rankings at the time, was clear they were up to the challenge.
After winning stage nine, Mas and his team strove to maintain the gap from his main rivals Primož Roglič of Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe and Felix Gall of Decathlon CMA CGM Team.
Mas maintained his cool all throughout, and by the time stage 20 finished on Saturday, the gap between him and Roglič was more than two minutes – enough to seal the deal.
“I was looking for this win, the team needed a victory like this one, and now we’ve got it,” Mas said in a short press conference on Sunday.
“It’s a day to remember, a great day. There’s always a great deal of tension on the final day about what can happen, and it was a long wait and a long way to get to today.”
“This is a very special one.”
Mas crossed the finale on Sunday donned in the red jersey and stood at the highest spot on the podium – a grand, emotional feat for someone who previously finished either second or third in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2024.
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Roglič ‘happy’ in second
Roglič, on the other hand, finished second, while Gall completed the podium in third.
For the Slovenian, the roads of Spain are familiar, after having won La Vuelta four times in his career.
He had been in doubt to enter the race until the last minute due to an injury he sustained during training.
Despite everything, Roglič was proud of what he has achieved.
“The result at the end is beautiful, it’s a win for me,” he told TNT Sports after stage 21.
“The approach to it was hard, and I could never really expect to achieve this at the end.”
Unfinished business no more for Team Visma Lease-a-Bike
Mas was not the only one who got his redemption this Vuelta.
Team Visma Lease-a-Bike’s Wout van Aert crossed the final line in green as this year’s winner of the points classification category – an honour he let slip when he crashed and abandoned during the 2024 edition of La Vuelta.
“In a way, yes, this is finished business after crashing out with the green jersey in 2024. After winning the green jersey in the Tour [2022], this was also something that I really wanted to win one day,” Van Aert said after the finale.
His prodigy, Matthew Brennan, also announced himself to the world after taking two more wins in a sprint masterclass on stage 16 and 17 – bringing his number of victories to five in his Grand Tour debut.
And in a last push, all of Visma’s riders huddled together to help La Vuelta 2023 winner Sepp Kuss trudge to the top of Collado del Alguacil on stage 20, which skyrocketed him to overall fifth.
“This was an example of how we race as a team. This is our identity,” Kuss said in a press release.
“I didn’t feel alone for a single moment today. We wanted to give it everything one more time, and it worked out well.”
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Tears of joy and heartbreak
The last week of Vuelta did not disappoint with the other stage battles.
Oscar Onley of Netcompany INEOS proved he was the best youngster out there after securing the youth classification category.
Tudor Pro Cycling Team’s Stefan Küng blasted rivals away to top the time trial stage, beating Roglič’s teammate, Callum Thornley, although he had to abandon the very next day.
Eddie Dunbar of Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team went clear more than 300 metres from the finish line to win stage 19 in an upset that left King of the Mountains winner Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain – Victorious) in tears.
Granada offered another chance at victory for Uno-X Mobility’s Tobias Halland Johannessen after finishing second for several stages both in the Tour de France and La Vuelta to cap off the team’s stunning World Tour debut.
And on stage 20, an emotional Mikel Landa of Soudal Quick-Step soloed to victory in a spectacular display of perseverance and resilience – a win he dedicated to his children to show what it means to never give up.
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