The denouement of the 2026 Vuelta a España got underway on Thursday, with the stage 18 time trial offering the first chance for the riders behind Enric Mas in the general classification to cut into his lead.Swiss time trial specialist Stefan Küng won the stage, completing the 32.1km course three seconds faster than Britain’s Callum Thornley, but all eyes were on Thornley’s Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe teammate Primož Roglič to see if he could close the gap on Mas.He did so, but Mas will be delighted to ship only 33 seconds to the Slovenian. Mas now has a lead of 1:33 over Roglič with two mountain stages to negotiate on Friday and Saturday, before the final Grand Tour of 2026 concludes in Granada on Sunday.Jacob Whitehead breaks down the key storylines from today’s stage.Enric Mas limits losses to Primoz Roglic to remain in red jerseyGoing into the stage, no rider in the Vuelta’s top 10 had ever beaten Roglič in a time trial. The Slovenian was Olympic champion in the discipline in Tokyo five years ago, even if the 36-year-old is now some distance from his career-best form against the clock.Yet all red-jersey Mas had to do was keep in touch with Roglič — and despite shipping 22 seconds by the first time check, a gritty ride from the Mallorcan meant that the race leader only lost 33 seconds by the end of the 32km course in Cadiz.It was the best time trial performance of his career — and has ensured he will take a one-minute-and-37-second lead into the climactic mountain stages.“I felt really good,” Mas said. “This was less than the time we had in mind to lose, so I’m happy.”Mas and time trials are no friends. The 31-year-old finished 91st in his last lengthy time trial, at this spring’s Giro d’Italia, and consistently sheds time in the discipline. Before the stage, his Movistar team complained that he would not be able to use his optimised skinsuit, obliged to ride in red instead.On a pancake-flat course which more suited power riders, the spindly rider settled into a metronomic rhythm with which he did not try to chase down Roglič, but simply rode at the optimal pace for him.