Stefan Küng wins Vuelta stage 18 time trial as Enric Mas leads GC

Stefan Küng won stage 18 of the Vuelta a España, taking the 32.5km individual time trial from El Puerto de Santa María to Jerez de la Frontera in 35 minutes and 22 seconds.

This was a day defined less by terrain selection than by execution. With the stage profile listed as an individual time trial and no climb data supplied, the decisive factor was the ability to hold speed across the full course rather than respond to attacks or manage a breakaway dynamic.

Küng sets the benchmark

Küng’s margin was narrow but meaningful. Callum Thornley finished second at 3 seconds, close enough to underline how tight the pacing window was, while João Almeida took third at 9 seconds. In a time trial of this length, those gaps suggest the podium was decided by small differences in sustained output, aerodynamics, and how cleanly each rider handled the effort from start to finish.

Primož Roglič finished fourth at 19 seconds, with Wout van Aert fifth at 20 seconds and Finn Fisher-Black sixth at 21 seconds. That cluster just behind the podium shows how quickly the stage separated once riders slipped even slightly off Küng’s pace.

GC impact

The supplied GC data lists Enric Mas as the race leader after stage 18. No full general classification gaps, pre-stage leader, or time losses among GC riders were provided, so the precise GC reshuffle cannot be stated from the available data.

What can be said is that the time trial placed several high-level names near the front of the stage result, with Almeida third and Roglič fourth. On a 32.5km individual test, even sub-30-second gaps can matter, but without the GC table those stage performances can only be interpreted as strong rides on the day rather than confirmed changes in the overall standings.