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Vuelta a España stage 18 LIVE: Favourites poised for GC showdown in all-important time trial El Puerto de Santa María to Jerez de la Frontera (ITT), 32 km Vuelta a España 2026 - Everything you need to know Vuelta a España 2026 - Contenders Vuelta a España 2026 - stage 18 preview How to watch the 2026 Vuelta a España For unbeatable coverage across road, gravel and tech, subscribe to Cyclingnews. You'll get comprehensive race coverage of La Vuelta a España, subscriber-exclusive analysis from our expert columnists, in-depth features and industry-leading tech insight. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! Join today. Race Situation Have your say Mathias Sunekær Norsgaard will be the rider to get us underway in just a few minutes after which the riders will set off at one minute intervals, until we reach the top twenty on GC, from which point they’ll set off every two minutes; Enric Mas in the red jersey will be the last to start, at 16:55 local time. Vuelta a España 2026: Stage 18 time trial start times It’s a flat course, and therefore one that should help the better time trialists among the GC contenders (ie, Roglič) maximise their time gain, while also giving the specialists further down the ranking a great shot at winning the stage. Have a read of our full preview here. The man looking to depose Enric Mas from the top of the classification is Primož Roglič. While Mas has never won a race of this calibre before, Roglič has made a career of doing so; rather than hunting his first ever Vuelta title, he instead is looking to break the record for the most ever. As an elite time trialist, this is the day he has been waiting for to make a move on the red jersey, and will hope he can make Mas crack under the considerable pressure he is under. Today might just be the biggest day in the career of Enric Mas. A pro for ten years, the Spaniard has been one of the best climbers in the peloton for most of that time, but has never quite managed to deliver the big result that matches his talents. Now, with just four more stages left to complete, he’s on the verge of taking one of the biggest prizes there is in cycling (especially for a Spaniard) - the Vuelta a España. But to do so, he can’t just rely on his climbing, but will today need to call up on his more limited time trialling skills. Hello and welcome to stage 18 of the Vuelta a España. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.