2026 Vuelta a España stage 14 preview | 'The new Pogačar' could threaten Vuelta leader Enric Mas on La Pandera

In its second week, the Vuelta a España has no intention of letting the general classification contenders off the hook. Just two days after Calar Alto, another mountain finish awaits on Saturday, and this time it’s the infamous Sierra de La Pandera that will serve as the battleground. Enric Mas is clearly dominating this Vuelta, so the big question now is: who can stop the Spaniard from Movistar? IDL Pro Cycling powers the question...

The fourteenth stage of the Vuelta a España will cover 154.5 kilometers on Saturday from Jaén to the summit of the Sierra de La Pandera. On paper, it’s not a particularly long stage, but the riders will hardly get a single meter of flat terrain and will climb more than 4,000 meters along the way.

The organizers have included three official climbs, with the final 70 kilometers consisting almost entirely of ascents and descents. However, starting from Jaén, the road already winds constantly up and down, with uncategorized climbs reaching gradients of over 7 and even 8 percent.

After 69.7 kilometers, the riders pass through Jaén again. From there, the route gradually starts to get more challenging. Via Los Villares, they ride to the first official climb of the day: the Puerto de Los Villares, which, at 10.5 kilometers at a 5.4 percent grade, isn’t exactly a major challenge.

After the summit, there are still 61.7 kilometers to go. After Los Villares, there is a descent toward Fuensanta de Martos, followed by a long, undulating stretch toward Castillo de Locubín. That’s also where the intermediate sprint takes place, after 123.6 kilometers.

After the sprint, we tackle the Puerto de Locubín, the second and final “starter.” At 8.7 kilometers with an average gradient of 5.1 percent, the climb isn’t particularly daunting, but its location makes it a lot more significant. The summit is just 21.3 kilometers from the finish line.

After a fast descent, there’s a steep little climb toward Valdepeñas de Jaén before we tackle La Pandera. The entire final climb is 11.9 kilometers long with an average gradient of 7.2 percent and takes the peloton to an altitude of approximately 1,820 meters. But that average gradient is misleading.

The first few kilometers climb at a relatively steady rate, but when the riders turn right toward La Pandera with 8.4 kilometers to go, the conditions change. That final section has an average gradient of nearly 8 percent and includes a kilometer with a gradient of about 17 percent.

La Pandera is one of those typical, irregular Vuelta climbs where you’ll never really find a rhythm. Roberto Heras won there in 2002, Alejandro Valverde a year later, and Damiano Cunego and Rafał Majka also claimed stage victories there.

The most recent winner is Richard Carapaz, who triumphed here in 2022 after breaking away from the peloton and is competing again this year. On that same day, Primož Roglič opened up a nearly 50-second lead over then-race leader Remco Evenepoel. That last detail will undoubtedly come up on Saturday at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.

Times
Start: 1:33 p.m CET
Finish: approximately 5:19 p.m CET

The heat has been noticeable throughout the Vuelta a España, but it will really make its presence felt in the second week. With temperatures approaching 40 degrees, it will be especially grueling for the riders, who won’t drop below 20 degrees on the climbs. Since there won’t be any wind either, it will only feel even hotter.

Who would have thought beforehand that, halfway through this Vuelta, we’d mainly be asking how Enric Mas could be beaten? The Spaniard may well be riding the best Grand Tour of his career, especially now that Tadej Pogacar is no longer stealing the spotlight from him. On the climbs in Stages 9 and 12, Mas was simply the best among the general classification contenders.

Mas is an excellent climber and, it seems, handles the Spanish heat well. Movistar and Mas are daring to control the race and attack, which will strike fear into the hearts of Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) on such a difficult final climb, where it really comes down to the legs. Richard Carapaz ( EF Education-EasyPost) also hasn’t shown a single moment yet that he can break away.

Roglic and Carapaz, in their prime, had circled Stage 14 in red, but will it now come down to more than just damage control? The same goes for other riders who are still well-positioned in the general classification. Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS) crashed on Day 12 and lost a lot of time later on. Sepp Kuss (Visma | Lease a Bike) is also riding while banged up, following a crash on Day 8. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) isn’t having a good race either.

Strangely enough, the only rider in the top ten who might pose a threat to Mas seems to be someone who won Stage 12 and thus moved up to 6th place in the standings. Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious) made a big impression, particularly with his comments after the race. The Slovenian claimed he wasn’t tired at all and seems to be getting even better. Could he perhaps challenge Mas, just as Tadej Pogacar did against Roglic in 2019?

Bahrain Victorious also has Santiago Buitrago, though he’ll have to make his move from the breakaway, and the Colombian has also set his sights on the mountains jersey. Who will join him in a potential breakaway group that’s strong enough to stay ahead? There aren’t many, but perhaps Decathlon will send the strong riders Léo Bisiaux, Matthew Riccitello, and/or Gregor Mühlberger, now that Gall can’t make up any time.

Who else do we have? XDS Astana has Harold Tejada in the top ten, but also still has Lorenzo Fortunato on the team. At Red Bull, Luke Tuckwell is getting better and better; UAE seems to have to rely on the whims of Pavel Sivakov; and when will we see the true potential of Visma’s rising star, Jørgen Nordhagen?

Eddie Dunbar (Pinarello-Q36.5), Carlos Rodriguez ( INEOS), and Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) are also in the lineup. And will we see Mikel Landa riding for Soudal Quick-Step? Otherwise, Mauri Vansevenant also seems to be getting better and better. Tudor is still hoping for a strong performance from Tour of Poland winner Marco Brenner, and we’re also keeping an eye on Jarno Widar (Lotto-Intermarché) and Urko Berrade (Equipo Kern Pharma).

Top favorites: Enric Mas (Movistar) and Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious)
Dark horses: Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), and Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS)
Long shots: Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Sepp Kuss, Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma | Lease a Bike), Lorenzo Fortunato, Harold Tejada (XDS Astana), Jarno Widar (Lotto-Intermarché), Léo Bisiaux, Matthew Riccitello, Gregor Mühlberger (Decathlon CMA CGM), Pavel Sivakov (UAE Emirates-XRG), Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Eddie Dunbar (Pinarello-Q36.5), Carlos Rodriguez (Netcompany INEOS), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Mikel Landa, Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal Quick-Step), Marco Brenner (Tudor), and Urko Berrade (Equipo Kern Pharma)