Vintage Landismo, flying Kuss and imperious Mas light up spectacular Vuelta Stage 20
CyclingSaturday, 12 September 2026 at 17:48
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Follow us on GoogleStage 20 of the Vuelta a España was won by Mikel Landa. The Spaniard proved the strongest from the early breakaway in a crazy mountain stage. The favourites fought one another for 80 kilometres, but Enric Mas ultimately refused to crack. He conceded some time to Felix Gall, but Primoz Roglic could not claw anything back. Sepp Kuss made a substantial jump up the general classification with a daring long-range move.
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Friday had already served up 4,000 metres of climbing, but on the penultimate day the Vuelta casually added almost another 5,000. Whether Stage 20 should officially be considered the queen stage is open to debate, but one thing was certain: the organisers had designed this day to settle the general classification.
The big question on the penultimate day of the Vuelta was whether race leader Enric Mas would simply defend his position, or whether he was confident enough to attack and put the perfect finishing touch on his race. Movistar had the team to control proceedings and, much like UAE Emirates-XRG often does for Tadej Pogacar, could keep a breakaway within striking distance.
Mas had already won a stage in this Vuelta, however, and in Stage 19 he did not exactly give the impression that another stage victory was high on his list of priorities. Much the same could be said for his closest challengers Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, at 1:37) and Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM, at 3:01). Their main objective was to drop one another, although that could of course go hand in hand with brutally hard racing and a showdown between the strongest riders on the final climb.
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Van Aert and Red Bull go on the attack
With a stage this hard, a major battle was always on the cards. And that battle began from kilometre zero: Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) attacked alongside Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), and they were later joined by no fewer than six Uno-X Mobility riders, including Andreas Leknessund and Tobias Halland Johannessen, as well as Pau Miquel (Bahrain Victorious), Bryan Coquard and Louis Rouland (Cofidis).
Finn Fisher-Black and Gianni Vermeersch had also made the move. With two riders in the breakaway, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe made it clear that it still had plans to attack Mas and his red jersey. A huge chasing group of around 30 riders formed behind them. The man in red was perfectly happy with the situation, though, and allowed the move to go.
A nasty crash briefly sent a shock through the peloton. Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM) went down and was forced to abandon, meaning Felix Gall had lost another important mountain domestique. The greatest concern, however, was for Chris Hamilton (Picnic PostNL), who remained on the ground screaming in pain. Unsurprisingly, the Australian was also unable to continue.
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Breakaway gets its freedom as Kuss and Carapaz go early
The Van Aert group was being driven by the strength of Uno-X Mobility, which kept the pace pinned. The chasers, despite the size of their group, could not get any closer and actually continued to lose time. By the start of the climb to El Purche, the first passage over this difficult ascent, the gap had already grown to 3:30. The peloton was an enormous ten minutes behind.
The race began exploding remarkably early on El Purche. First it was Sepp Kuss (Visma | Lease a Bike) who accelerated, attempting to bridge towards the front. Not long afterwards, Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) launched his own attack. The rider fourth in the general classification immediately put his rivals under pressure, with Decathlon CMA CGM taking responsibility for the chase.
And just like that, the Vuelta had completely blown apart. Gall himself was the next to attack, riding across to Carapaz and Kuss. Only Mas and Roglic could match the Austrian’s pace. Onley was dropped just below the summit and then lost a significant amount of time in the valley. With 82 kilometres still remaining, the race had already been torn to pieces.
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Visma | Lease a Bike goes to war, but Mas refuses to bend
Visma | Lease a Bike then dropped Matthew Brennan and Steven Kruijswijk back to work for Kuss. It meant the second group of general classification contenders began losing a considerable amount of time. The American climber then decided to accelerate once again on El Purche. He opened up a sizeable gap, while Carapaz produced an almost copy-and-paste move by launching another attack of his own.
Behind them, the podium contenders continued to keep their powder dry. At the front, Van Aert took maximum points for the second time, keeping the possibility of winning the mountains jersey alive. Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) was initially the only rider capable of bridging from the chasing group to the leaders, although Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech) later managed to get across as well.
The Belgian did not simply bridge across on El Duque, the penultimate climb of the day — he went straight past the leaders. Only Johannessen and Landa could follow his pace. Behind them, Kuss had ridden a long way clear of his rivals, who were making their way up the mountain at an almost strangely slow tempo. Attacks came here and there, but just as before, nobody was capable of making a decisive difference. At times it led to literal track stands on the mountain. Magnificent!
Read more below the video!
Visma | Lease a Bike gives Kuss a tow
Far ahead of the rest of the general classification contenders, Kuss had linked up with Van Aert, who began setting the tempo through the valley. By that point, the American was already five minutes ahead of his rivals. He still needed to take back considerably more if he wanted to put himself in contention for the podium. Meanwhile, the three leaders reached the foot of the Collado del Alguacil, the brutally difficult final climb. Kuss also found Nordhagen waiting for him on the road. Visma’s plan was now in full swing.
On that savage final ascent, Landa began setting a hard pace early. First he destroyed Debruyne, then Johannessen was forced to let go. The Norwegian settled into his own rhythm, however, and refused to surrender. Behind them, Kuss began to struggle on Nordhagen’s wheel: the Visma | Lease a Bike leader started losing time to the red jersey group, where Fisher-Black was riding on the front for Roglic. Mas, however, gave the Slovenian no opportunity to attack.
That was because Romeo then took over the pace-setting, meaning Mas’ Slovenian rival never really looked capable of launching a move. Instead, it was Gall who attacked and began putting Roglic’s second place under pressure. Mas initially followed the Austrian, but for the first time all day he began showing signs of weakness. His red jersey was no longer in serious danger, however, because the gap was simply too large.
At the front, Landa claimed an enormously, enormously deserved victory. The veteran, who will leave Soudal Quick-Step after the Vuelta, crossed the line overcome with emotion after a difficult year. Johannessen finished second and Debruyne third. Kuss crossed the line almost five minutes behind the winner, still being encouraged all the way by Nordhagen.
Results of Stage 20 of the 2026 Vuelta a España
1. Mikel Landa
2. Tobias Halland Johannessen + 0.47
3. Ramses Debruyne + 1.27
4. Urko Berrade + 4.13
5. Jan Hirt + 4.20
2. Tobias Halland Johannessen + 0.47
3. Ramses Debruyne + 1.27
4. Urko Berrade + 4.13
5. Jan Hirt + 4.20
David Bavin-HobbsChief Editor
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.
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Latest Comments
- Pogi is the Road Warrior par excellence. Come back even stronger much to the chagrin of all other competitors.
Brucegel12-09-2026 - - Félicitations in advance si ça se concrétise. Line-up looks très britannique mais con ambición grande. Tour 2027 en Edimbourg sería épico si les invitan.gearguru3310-09-2026
- - Vamos Ethan! Breakaway king of this Vuelta and super combative. Today’s flat chrono is perfect terrain—just keep it clean through the Jerez crosswinds.breakawaybikerd10-09-2026
- - Bit cautious here. Hayter’s had stop-start seasons with crashes/illness and I still don’t know if he’s a GC week-long guy or a TT/sprint hybrid. Curious whether they build around him or Pidcock first.pedalpowe2910-09-2026
- - Hayter’s engine + Q5’s growing train could smash team TTs and medium sprint stages. Mauro Schmid + Bittner coming too? That’s a nasty lead-out combo if they gel.cyclechamp4510-09-2026
- - Can someone explain how ProTeams get Tour invites? If Q5 aren’t automatic, what results do they need—UCI points, one-day wins, or stage race podiums? Confused how that process works.samanthak10-09-2026
- - Love the Edinburgh Grand Départ angle. If ASO is on the fence, a British TT champ in form plus Pidcock makes that wildcard case much stronger. Q5 look less like a ProTeam and more like a budding GC/ Classics hybrid.jennifer1910-09-2026
- - Not sure the piece nails the contract timing. Says “for 2027” but what about 2025–26? Is he staying at Soudal through 2026 even after being told no extension? Sounds a bit contradictory tbh.robert6510-09-2026
- - Huge if true. Hayter to Q5 alongside Pidcock, Wright and Gloag gives them a legit British core. With Glasenberg’s backing they’re clearly aiming at TdF wildcardHope he nails today’s TT after missing the Bilbao opener by09s—that’s been haunting him all Vuelta.tourdeforce910-09-2026
- - Love the honesty about hesitating because of Remco’s messages. Ego flattered but head ruled. That’s grown-up stuff. Vamos Tim, forza UAE!andrewf10-09-2026
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