La Vuelta: Mas in the Bullring & Coppa Sabatini

Enric Mas successfully negotiated one of his biggest test of his 2026 Vuelta a Espana, conceding only 33 seconds to Primoz Roglic in the ITT from El Puerto de Santa Maria to Jerez de la Frontera. Mas retained the red jersey with an advantage of 1:37 over Roglic, who moved into second overall ahead of Felix Gall. With three stages to go, Mas stays in control of the race but refuses to consider the race settled.

“Honestly, pressure was the least of my concerns. I was simply happy to have worn the red jersey for so many days, and being able to wear it for another day is a huge source of price. There are only three stages left.

“No advantage is ever enough with rivals like Primoz, Gall and all the others who are there, Richard and Oscar. They are rivals who can surprise you at any moment, so we always have to be extremely attentive. We can never become overconfident because the race can still be lost.”

-Enric Mas

“You have to win, it doesn’t matter by how big of a margin.”

-Stefan Kung blitzed the flat 32.1km course in 35:22 just two seconds faster than Callum Thornley

With a burst of speed inside the final few hundred metres, Benoit Cosefroy won the Coppa Sabatini in Peccioli. This is his fifth victory in his debut campaign with UAE, and the first of his career on Italian soil, with Cosnefroy just edging out Clement Venturini (Unibet) and Romain Grégoire (Groupama).

“Inside the final few hundred metres to go, I did my best sprint to try to win. I was feeling good in this sprint, but in the day I was not confident in the downhill or in the bunch. A lot of times I got dropped and then came back again, it was only in the final that this was different. I am really happy to take this victory for my teammates, for my team, and it is my first victory here in Italy, which is important for my career.”

-Benoit Cosnefroy