Slovenian 20-year-old Jakob Omrzel climbed to victory on stage 12 of the Vuelta a Espana on Thursday as Spain's Enric Mas extended his overall lead on a tough mountain stage.
In a landmark performance, Omrzel, of the Bahrain Victorious team, also leapt up the overall standings, evoking memories of his countryman Tadej Pogacar's showing in his first Grand Tour in 2019. Omrzel jumped to sixth overall, just 30sec behind Briton Oscar Onley in the best young rider white jersey category. Onley fell early in the stage and finished over five minutes adrift of the winner.
"I can't believe what I did, but I felt super good. I'm still feeling okay. I'm not tired. So I'm just enjoying it at the moment," Omrzel said. Three major mountain stages remain in an enthralling 21-day race.Pogacar was six months older than Omrzel when he came third and won three stages in the 2019 edition of the Vuelta.
Movistar rider Mas finished 2min 56sec adrift of the winner but extended his olead over Primoz Roglic by 27 seconds to 1 minute and 45 seconds. Four-time champion Roglic, another Slovenian, crossed the line with Felix Gall, who is third overall.
Mas had several Movistar team members around him over the early climbs. "We did two training camps here, and I enjoyed it today more than in winter. It's 27 seconds, and that could be very important in the final week. It was a long day, but I'm happy with what w
e achieved here," said the 31-year-old.
The Vuelta returned to the mountains on stage 12 with a run of 166km that was contested in searing heat over five climbs to Calar Alto. Mas has won the Vuelta white jersey twice, in 2018 and 2020, and is set for his first Grand Tour win if he can hold on.
Pogacar was leading the Vuelta by almost four minutes but crashed out on stage eight, breaking a collarbone in what may be a season-ending injury. The race ends in Andalusia next weekend with stages in the mountains and hills around Malaga and Granada's Sierra Nevada.
