Vuelta 2026: Slovenian prodigy Omrzel wins atop Calar Alto, Mas extends lead

fotobureau Cor VosJakob Omrzel drops his breakaway companions with 12 kilometres to go before the summit of the final climb. The 20-year-old Slovenian solos to victory at the Observatorio Astronómico de Calar Alto, while Enric Mas strengthens his grip on the overall lead. (Slideshow route/profile)

Stage 12 Results – 2026 Vuelta

1. Jakob Omrzel (slo) 4:29:53
2. Urko Berrade (spa) + 1:56
3. Santiago Buitrago (col) 2:13
4. Alexey Loetsenko (kaz) + 2:49
5. Mauri Vansevenant (bel) + 2:53
6. Enric Mas (spa) + 2:56
7. Felix Gall (aut) + 3:23
8. Primoz Roglic (slo) s.t.
9. Richard Carapaz (ecu) s.t.
10. Gregor Mühlberger (aut) + 3:50

12. Oscar Onley (gbr) + 5:05
15. Mattias Skjelmose (aut) + 6:43
20. Sepp Kuss (usa) + 6:45
21. Harold Tejada (col) + 6:50

GC after stage 12

1. Enric Mas (spa)
2. Primoz Roglic (slo) + 1:45
3. Felix Gall (aut) + 2:06
4. Richard Carapaz (ecu) + 3:53
5. Oscar Onley (gbr) + 4:29
6. Jakob Omrzel (slo) + 4:59
7. Mattias Skjelmose (den) + 7:42
8. Sepp Kuss (usa) + 7:58
9. Gregor Mühlberger (aut) + 8:27
10. Harold Tejada (col) + 8:33

Race report
The peloton is still together on the Alto del Cabecico. Wout van Aert takes maximum points at the summit ahead of KOM leader Santiago Buitrago. The pair press on together, but later Axel Laurance, Ramses Debruyne and Alexey Lutsenko take over at the front. Intially, their advantage remains small.

After 40 kilometres, 25 riders bridge across - Wout van Aert, Santiago Buitrago, Pello Bilbao, Mauri Vansevenant, João Almeida, Eddie Dunbar, Jack Haig, Luke Tuckwell, Lennard Kämna, Jakob Omrzel, Jakob Omrzel, Léo Bisiaux, Ivo Oliveira, Kevin Vermaerke, Pablo Castrillo, Raúl García Pierna, Vincenzo Albanese, Rémy Rochas, Hugo Houle, Tobias Halland Johannessen, Andreas Kron, Andreas Leknessund, Finlay Pickering, Marco Brenner, Urko Berrade and Henok Mulubrhan - before José Manuel Diaz Gallego and Chris Hamilton make it a group of 30 riders.

Van Aert outsprints Buitrago for the mountain points at both Alto Cóbdar and Collado García. The Belgian powerhouse cements his lead in the points classification in the Velefique intermediate sprint.

The breakaway builds a maximum lead of around 8 minutes during the day and the gap drops below 6 minutes on the Alto de Velefique. With Van Aert dropped on the climb, Buitrago takes maximum KOM points at the summit.

On the steepest sections of the final climb, Felix Gall attacks from the peloton. Enric Mas and Primoz Roglic are able to follow, while the rest are dropped. Meanwhile, the breakaway is down to Léo Bisiaux, Jakob Omrzel and Urko Berrade.

With 12 kilometres of climbing remaining, Omrzel goes clear on his own. Around 4 minutes behind the young Slovenian, Mas has the same idea: he rides clear of Gall and Roglic.

The red jersey opens up a lead of 40 seconds, but then the gap stalls, partly because the chasers get help from teammates dropping back from the breakaway.

Meanwhile, Omrzel solos to victory, finishing almost 2 minutes ahead of Berrade and more than 2 minutes ahead of his teammate Buitrago, who has had an excellent day in the mountains classification, extending his lead to runner-up Van Aert to 22 points.

Finishing 27 seconds ahead of Roglic and Gall, Mas tightens his grip on the red jersey, while Onley feels Omrzel breathing down his neck in the battle for the white jersey, as the gap has come down to 30 seconds.

Another interesting read: route 12th stage 2026 Vuelta a España.