2026 Vuelta a España stage 18 preview | Mas Vs Roglič in the long-awaited time trial

No mountains, no 20-man breakaway, and no bunch sprint. On Thursday, there’s only one man in the spotlight at the Vuelta a España: the rider himself. In a 32.1-kilometer individual time trial from El Puerto de Santa María to Jerez de la Frontera, the time trial specialists will get their second and final chance against the clock. At the same time, Enric Mas may be facing his most important test of this Vuelta, as Primoz Roglic has had this day circled in red for weeks. Let's take a closer look.

With all those hills and mountains in this edition of the Vuelta a España, you’d actually expect the time trial on stage 18 to be a tough challenge. But the course between El Puerto de Santa María and Jerez de la Frontera is really one that will suit the specialists more than the climbers who are good at time trials. Over 32 kilometers of flat, relentless pedaling.

We start in the center of Puerto de Santa María, where there are a few tight turns at the beginning—but nothing to worry about. Once you’re out of town, there are some slightly uphill sections, but the gradient will never exceed two percent. This time trial is mostly straightforward. Also, those long, straight roads will be quite open, so the wind could play a role.

Just before El Portal lies the first intermediate point, after 11.5 kilometers. In that village, the course turns right and crosses the Guadelete River. This is followed by a new section that runs along country roads toward Jerez de la Frontera. Passing through Lomopardo, the riders reach the second intermediate checkpoint, located on a short, hilly stretch. There, the gradients reach a maximum of six percent, but it’s only very brief.

So those little hills certainly won’t make a difference. After that second intermediate point (which comes after 22 kilometers of cycling), the route heads a bit further north, and the race reaches the finish line via Estella del Marques. The course gets a bit more winding here, with a number of sharp turns, but the finish is on a straight stretch of about two kilometers. The slightly uphill stretch toward the finish line will still be tough, especially after pedaling hard for over 30 kilometers.

Times
Start: 1:24 p.m CET
Finish: 5:20 p.m CET

After the extreme heat of the past week and a half, conditions are expected to become slightly more pleasant on Thursday. Temperatures around Jerez de la Frontera are expected to reach about 30 degrees, with mostly sunny weather. Rain does not appear to be a factor.

The wind is more interesting. The current forecast calls for a southwesterly wind of about 15 to 17 kilometers per hour. That’s not extreme, but in a flat time trial close to the Gulf of Cádiz, it’s definitely enough to influence the outcome.

The first time trial of this Vuelta immediately gives us an excellent contender for Thursday: Ethan Hayter. In Monaco, the Brit finished in exactly the same second as Tadej Pogacar. In the end, the margin was just nine hundredths of a second, and Hayter had to settle for second place. Joshua Tarling finished third, four seconds behind, but like Pogačar, he is no longer in the race.

In the Tour of Poland, just before this Vuelta, he finished eighth in the final time trial. His performance in Monaco then confirmed that he’s back to his best against the clock. But after nearly three weeks of racing, there’s always that one unknown factor: how much do the riders have left in the tank? That’s where Stefan Küng comes in. The Swiss rider from Tudor seems to be getting better as this Vuelta goes on.

Hayter and, in particular, Küng will have to contend with Wout van Aert, who, according to Visma | Lease a Bike, is approaching the form he showed in his breakout year of 2022—and suddenly, this time trial also seems well within his reach. Since the third week of a Grand Tour is all about the legs, Küng’s advantage on paper isn’t necessarily a guarantee of success.

Visma | Lease a Bike has another time trial specialist in Bruno Armirail , and the Frenchman isn’t the only one we need to mention. Iván Roméo and Pablo Castrillo are excellent time trialists at Movistar, but will they be allowed to go all out now that team leader Enric Mas is fighting for the overall victory in this Vuelta? That’s also the question for Callum Thornley and Oscar Chamberlain.

The domestiques of Primož Roglič and Felix Gall on Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe and Decathlon CMA CGM may have to hold back, as might Finn Fisher-Black from the Red Bull camp. Primoz Roglic is the only general classification contender in the top ten with a shot at a stage win. The Slovenian should be able to do better than Enric Mas and will begin his pursuit of the red jersey.

We don’t expect anyone from the top ten in the general classification—other than Roglic—to have a shot at the stage win. We had previously mentioned Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) as being in top form here, but we won’t be highlighting him now. Any outsiders who might surprise us? Ivo Oliveira (UAE Emirates-XRG)—if he’s recovered from his crash on Day 16—and Mathias Norsgaard ( Lidl-Trek) could go all out.

Top Favorite: Stefan Küng (Tudor)
Dark horses: Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step), Wout van Aert, Bruno Armirail (Visma | Lease a Bike), and Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Long shots: Iván Roméo, Pablo Castrillo (Movistar), Callum Thornley, Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Oscar Chamberlain (Decathlon CMA CGM), Ivo Oliveira (UAE Emirates-XRG), and Mathias Norsgaard (Lidl-Trek)