Enric Mas explains how he will take on Roglic in the last 2 mountain stages of the Vuelta a España.

The goal was to retain the red jersey, but Enric Mas achieved much more in the individual time trial on Stage 18 of the Vuelta a España. The Movistar team leader not only defended his lead over Primoz Roglic, but also extended his advantage over virtually all of his other rivals in the general classification. After this milestone, an overall victory in the Vuelta a España is now a very realistic prospect.

Primož Roglič lived up to his reputation as an outstanding time trialist by finishing fourth in a time trial of just over 32 kilometers to Jerez de la Frontera. The Slovenian rider from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe was just 18 seconds slower than winner Stefan Küng (Tudor) and thus appeared to have done very well.

However, that was without counting on Mas, because while the Spaniard had often struggled in time trials throughout his career, he surprised friends and foes alike on Thursday with the best time trial of his life. He finished twelfth, making Mas the second-highest-ranked general classification rider in the top ten—behind Roglic—in the day’s results.

"I'm feeling confident about the time trial. It's flat, without too many turns, so we'll have to focus on power and position—that's it," Mas said on Wednesday after Stage 17. That sounded very simple, but it was exactly what the red jersey wearer did the next day. He looked aerodynamic and thus succeeded in his goal: retaining the red jersey.

"It felt really good. We expected to lose some time, but when I was only 19 seconds behind Roglic at the first checkpoint... I still have a minute and a half left now, which isn’t necessarily a lot. There are still two very important days ahead, and then the final day in Granada.”

Now that the time trial is over and the standings on the climbs favor Mas, nothing seems to stand in his way of winning his home race. Speaking to Eurosport, however, he dismissed any suggestion of pressure. “Pressure was the last thing that affected me. I’m happy to have been in the red jersey for so long, and the fact that I get to wear it for one more day fills me with pride.”

With two grueling mountain stages coming up on Friday and Saturday, Mas isn’t ready to say that the overall victory is within reach just yet. “A 1.37-minute lead might not be enough, with rivals like Primoz Roglic, Richard Carapaz, Oscar Onley... They’re competitors who can surprise you at any moment. I have to stay extremely alert and never get too confident, because then you can lose in the blink of an eye.”