Spain’s Enric Mas won the 2026 Vuelta a España on Sunday, capturing his first Grand Tour title after three previous runner-up finishes. Mas, 31, claimed the overall victory with a 2 minute 15 second lead over four-time champion Primoz Roglic, while Felix Gall completed the podium in third place, trailing Mas by an additional 30 seconds.

The three-week race concluded with a 112-kilometer final stage in Granada, starting at a supermarket and featuring multiple loops around the city and the Alhambra palace. Norwegian rider Tobias Johannessen of Uno-X Mobility won the stage in a sprint finish ahead of Alessandro Rommele and Ramses Debruyne. The final 9.8 kilometers of the stage were neutralized following safety concerns raised by riders and sanctioned by the UCI, effectively reducing the finish to a procession for the general classification contenders.

Mas took the red jersey after the withdrawal of pre-race favorite Tadej Pogacar, who crashed severely on stage eight. Pogacar, a two-time Tour de France winner, had been aiming to become just the fourth cyclist to achieve the Tour-Vuelta double within the same season. His abandonment opened the door for Mas, who demonstrated consistency and resilience throughout the race.

A three-time Vuelta runner-up (2018, 2021, 2022), Mas managed to contain challenges from Roglic and Gall, notably limiting his time losses to Roglic in the individual time trial on Thursday and then extending his advantage on the final mountain stage on Saturday. After crossing the finish line, Mas celebrated alongside his six Movistar teammates who rode alongside him in support.

“This has been a dream and something I have fought hard for,” Mas said after the victory. “It was a day full of emotions, all of them positive.” Despite his triumph, he emphasized the team’s focus on future goals. “We have to keep on doing what we’re doing. We’re sportsmen, and now we think about the next objectives. There is no time to enjoy the victories for long.”

Mas’s win marked Team Movistar’s first Vuelta overall victory since Nairo Quintana of Colombia won in 2016. “The reality is that the team needed a victory like this, and now we have it,” Mas added, underscoring the significance for the Spanish squad.

The 2026 edition of the Vuelta highlighted a dramatic shift in leadership and showcased Mas’s persistence in pursuing a Grand Tour title on home soil, ending a 12-year drought for Spanish riders at the race.