GERMAN MARCO BRENNER fought off Santiago Buitrago to claim a mountaintop victory from a long-range breakaway on stage 14 of the Vuelta a España on Saturday.
Overall leader Enric Mas extended his lead as he finished 25 seconds ahead of veteran four-time Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic, who slipped from second to third overall behind Felix Gall.
Mas leads Gall by two minutes and six seconds with Roglic just four seconds back.
Spain’s Carlos Rodriguez finished the stage third at the end of the 154.5 kilometre ride from Jaen to La Pandera and climbed into the top 10 overall.
Darren Rafferty finished 26th on Saturday and is 97th in the general classification, while Eddie Dunbar sits 37th overall after placing 56th on stage 14.
A large early breakaway established a gap of more than seven minutes on the peloton, including Mas.
With around 52km remaining, Kevin Vermaerke attacked to take a solo lead, which the American maintained until Georg Steinhauser caught him with 15km left.
The German left Vermaerke behind as he began the final climb up the Sierra de la Pandera as weekend crowds cheered on the riders.
Guillaume Martin came across to join Steinhauser, followed by Mario Aparicio, opening up a gap of nearly a minute on the rest of the break.
Buitrago and Brenner caught them with just over three kilometres remaining before forging ahead.
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Buitrago attacked first, but Brenner came past him to claim victory.
Further down the slope, the red jersey-wearing Mas and Gall dropped Roglic and Richard Carapaz in the general classification battle.
Roglic finished 25 seconds behind Mas and Gall, with Ecuadorian Carapaz, fourth overall, a further six seconds back.
Cycling superstar Tadej Pogačar was leading the race until a crash on stage eight forced him to abandon his bid to win a first Vuelta and become only the ninth man to complete the full set of Grand Tours.
He underwent surgery on a fractured collarbone and confirmed on Saturday that his season was over. ”Of course, this isn’t the way I wanted my season to finish. Right now, the most important thing is to recover properly and give my body the time it needs,” Pogačar said in a UAE Team Emirates-XRG statement.
On Sunday’s 15th stage, the riders travel a winding 189.7km route from Palma del Rio to Cordoba. Organisers have reportedly shortened the distance due to extreme heat.
Elsewhere, Dutch rider Noor Dekker has won stage four of the Rás na mBan in County Carlow. The WV Breda Women’s Cycling star attacked with 10 kilometres to go and held on for victory ahead of Noémie Garnier and Olympia Norrid Mortensen.
French rider Garnier’s second-place finish elevates her into the magenta jersey as overall race leader, taking over from stage three winner Silje Weitze Antvorskov, who finished seventh on Saturday’s stage.
In the Cycling Ireland Points standings, Aoife O’Brien scored in both of today’s intermediate sprints to ensure she holds a commanding lead in the classification.
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Germany's Brenner wins Vuelta stage 14 as Roglic loses time on Mas
GERMAN MARCO BRENNER fought off Santiago Buitrago to claim a mountaintop victory from a long-range breakaway on stage 14 of the Vuelta a España on Saturday.
Overall leader Enric Mas extended his lead as he finished 25 seconds ahead of veteran four-time Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic, who slipped from second to third overall behind Felix Gall.
Mas leads Gall by two minutes and six seconds with Roglic just four seconds back.
Spain’s Carlos Rodriguez finished the stage third at the end of the 154.5 kilometre ride from Jaen to La Pandera and climbed into the top 10 overall.
Darren Rafferty finished 26th on Saturday and is 97th in the general classification, while Eddie Dunbar sits 37th overall after placing 56th on stage 14.
A large early breakaway established a gap of more than seven minutes on the peloton, including Mas.
With around 52km remaining, Kevin Vermaerke attacked to take a solo lead, which the American maintained until Georg Steinhauser caught him with 15km left.
The German left Vermaerke behind as he began the final climb up the Sierra de la Pandera as weekend crowds cheered on the riders.
Guillaume Martin came across to join Steinhauser, followed by Mario Aparicio, opening up a gap of nearly a minute on the rest of the break.
Buitrago and Brenner caught them with just over three kilometres remaining before forging ahead.
Buitrago attacked first, but Brenner came past him to claim victory.
Further down the slope, the red jersey-wearing Mas and Gall dropped Roglic and Richard Carapaz in the general classification battle.
Roglic finished 25 seconds behind Mas and Gall, with Ecuadorian Carapaz, fourth overall, a further six seconds back.
Cycling superstar Tadej Pogačar was leading the race until a crash on stage eight forced him to abandon his bid to win a first Vuelta and become only the ninth man to complete the full set of Grand Tours.
He underwent surgery on a fractured collarbone and confirmed on Saturday that his season was over. ”Of course, this isn’t the way I wanted my season to finish. Right now, the most important thing is to recover properly and give my body the time it needs,” Pogačar said in a UAE Team Emirates-XRG statement.
On Sunday’s 15th stage, the riders travel a winding 189.7km route from Palma del Rio to Cordoba. Organisers have reportedly shortened the distance due to extreme heat.
Elsewhere, Dutch rider Noor Dekker has won stage four of the Rás na mBan in County Carlow. The WV Breda Women’s Cycling star attacked with 10 kilometres to go and held on for victory ahead of Noémie Garnier and Olympia Norrid Mortensen.
French rider Garnier’s second-place finish elevates her into the magenta jersey as overall race leader, taking over from stage three winner Silje Weitze Antvorskov, who finished seventh on Saturday’s stage.
In the Cycling Ireland Points standings, Aoife O’Brien scored in both of today’s intermediate sprints to ensure she holds a commanding lead in the classification.
– © AFP 2026
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