Landa wins Vuelta stage 20 as Mas extends overall lead to 2min 15sec

Mikel Landa won stage 20 of the Vuelta a Espana on Saturday as Enric Mas increased his overall advantage to 2min 15sec with one day remaining. According to BBC Sport's report by Ben Collins, the mountainous penultimate stage brought Landa his first Grand Tour stage success in nine years and left Mas close to securing his first overall victory in a three-week race.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSzy4hfKUFk

Landa, 36, joined a three-rider breakaway on the 186.8km route from La Calahorra to Collado del Alguacil. The Soudal Quick-Step rider then attacked on the final climb and finished in 4hr 58min 1sec. Tobias Johannessen of Uno-X Mobility took second, 47 seconds behind, while Alpecin-Premier Tech's Ramses Debruyne finished third, a further 40 seconds back.

The result was Landa's fifth Grand Tour stage victory and his first win of any kind since 2021, the BBC reported. He had not won a Vuelta stage since 2015. His successful move on the last ascent gave Spain the stage winner on a day when another Spanish rider strengthened his position at the top of the overall standings.

Mas stayed close to his main classification opponents despite repeated attacks from Richard Carapaz. Felix Gall gained a few seconds on the race leader, but Mas increased his cushion over second-placed Primoz Roglic. Gall remains third overall, 2min 44sec behind the Movistar rider, with Carapaz fourth at 6min 54sec. Mas's accumulated race time stands at 70hr 56min 58sec.

Sepp Kuss made the biggest move among the leading contenders, climbing from 11th to fifth overall after spending much of the stage between the breakaway and the main classification group. The 2023 Vuelta winner is now 8min 45sec behind Mas. Britain's Oscar Onley slipped to sixth after finishing more than three minutes behind the leader, although the 23-year-old remains on course to take the best young rider's white jersey.

Mas has held the lead since Tadej Pogacar crashed out on stage eight. A runner-up in 2018, 2021 and 2022, he would become Spain's first Vuelta winner since Alberto Contador in 2014 if he completes the job. The title is not yet secured: Sunday's final stage covers 112km around Granada, with Mas needing to finish safely to convert his advantage into victory.