RACE REPORT: Tobias Halland Johannessen finally got his Vuelta stage win—and he certainly didn’t take the easy way. The Norwegian outfoxed his fellow escapees after a frantic final lap through Granada to win a superb Stage 21, while Enric Mas safely completed his victory in the 2026 Vuelta a España.
After three weeks of racing, there was still plenty of fight left in this Vuelta.
A Grand Tour finale with some real bite
The final stage around Granada was never designed to be the usual champagne procession followed by a predictable bunch sprint.
The 112-kilometre route featured four trips up the climb toward the Alhambra fortress—2.1 kilometres at 7.3%—giving the finale a distinctly Tour de France-on-Montmartre feel. It was short, sharp, technical and ideal for the puncheurs.
On paper, that put Wout van Aert near the top of the favourites list. But this Vuelta has never been particularly interested in following the script.
Before the start, the riders raised concerns about the safety of the Granada circuit and asked that the stage be neutralized. The organizers initially resisted before agreeing that the general-classification times would be taken at the penultimate passage through the finish.
That protected Enric Mas and the other GC riders while leaving the stage victory very much up for grabs.
A final salute
Before the racing began, the peloton paid tribute to several riders who will retire at the end of the season.
Steven Kruijswijk, Magnus Cort and Pello Bilbao were among those honoured with a guard of honour ahead of their final Grand Tour stage. The 39-year-old Kruijswijk walked at the front with his children, enjoying a well-deserved farewell after a long career spent near the sharp end of the sport’s biggest races.
Once underway, the early kilometres followed the usual final-stage traditions. The jersey winners gathered for photographs, Movistar celebrated around red jersey Enric Mas and the riders enjoyed a few relaxed conversations after three very hard weeks on the road.
But once the race reached Granada’s finishing circuit, the smiles disappeared and the speed went up.
Tronchon lights the fuse
Movistar gradually lifted the pace approaching the circuit, but the real racing began with three laps remaining when Groupama-FDJ took control.
Bastien Tronchon—the surprise winner of Stage 10 in Elche de la Sierra—launched a hard attack on the second ascent toward the Alhambra. His acceleration created a dangerous nine-rider move that included five-time stage winner Matthew Brennan, Alessandro Romele, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Jarno Widar, Milan Vader, Finn Fisher-Black, Axel Laurance and Léo Bisiaux.
One very notable name was missing: Wout van Aert.
The Belgian had Brennan up front for Visma | Lease a Bike and could afford to watch the others do the chasing. Bahrain Victorious and Uno-X Mobility had missed the move, however, and immediately went to work behind.
Their chase paid off, with the leaders caught on the penultimate climb.
By that point, Mas and most of the other classification riders had wisely stepped away from the fight. Their times had been secured and there was no reason to take unnecessary risks on the last lap.
The red jersey was going home with Mas.
Bilbao turns back the clock
The speed heading toward the final ascent was savage, stretching the front of the race into one long line.
Pau Miquel then delivered the perfect launch for retiring teammate Pello Bilbao. The 36-year-old Basque attacked on the opening slopes and, for a few glorious moments, appeared capable of signing off with one last Grand Tour victory.
Bilbao opened a promising gap, but Axel Laurance stormed past before the summit with another explosive acceleration. The Frenchman couldn’t make it stick, and the race came back together over the top.
A select group of eleven riders emerged, including Bilbao, Thibau Nys, Tronchon, Paret-Peintre, Widar, Tobias Halland Johannessen, Marco Brenner, Harold Tejada, Romele, Ramses Debruyne and Brennan.
Van Aert, surprisingly, had been unable to follow the best on the climb. His chance was gone.
Everyone against Brennan
The final kilometres turned into a high-speed game of cycling poker.
Brennan was clearly the fastest finisher in the group, which meant everyone else had the same problem: get rid of the young Brit or hand him a sixth stage victory.
Attacks came from every direction as Brennan was forced to respond, hesitate and decide which moves were dangerous enough to chase. Nobody wanted to tow him to the line, but nobody wanted to let the winning move disappear either.
Johannessen read the situation perfectly.
The Norwegian waited while the others watched Brennan, then committed to his move. With the chase lacking cooperation behind, Johannessen opened the small gap he needed and drove all the way toward the finish.
After coming close earlier in the Vuelta—and finishing second behind Mikel Landa on the brutal Stage 20 summit finish—Johannessen finally had his day.
He held off the chasing riders to take a richly deserved victory beneath the Alhambra and bring this Vuelta to a suitably attacking conclusion.
Mas finally wins La Vuelta
Behind the fight for the stage, Enric Mas rolled home as the winner of the 2026 Vuelta a España.
The Movistar leader finished the race 2:15 ahead of Primož Roglič, with Felix Gall completing the final podium. Mas became the first Spanish rider to win La Vuelta since Alberto Contador in 2014—a long-awaited home victory and the biggest result of his career.
Mas inherited the race lead after Tadej Pogačar’s shock departure following Stage 8, but there was nothing gifted about the way he defended it. He survived the mountains, produced an excellent time trial and calmly handled everything Roglič and the other challengers threw at him.
Special bike for a special day
Movistar also marked the occasion with special clothing built around the red jersey, but no additional decoration was really required.
After years of podium finishes and near misses, Enric Mas is finally a Grand Tour winner.
And after 21 stages filled with storms, extreme heat, surprise victories, five Brennan wins and the sudden exit of the pre-race favourite, the 2026 Vuelta ended with one final twist.
Tobias Halland Johannessen took the stage.
Enric Mas took the Vuelta.
La Vuelta a Espana 2026 Stage 21 Video Finale
PEZ Key Takeaway
Tobias Halland Johannessen made his move when everyone else was watching Matthew Brennan, turning a tactical stalemate into a memorable final-stage victory. For Enric Mas, the day carried even greater significance: after years of podium finishes and near misses, the Spaniard finally became a Grand Tour champion. Man, I can’t help but feel happy for him.
Thanks for reading over the last 21 days – we still have MontrealGP coming in a couple of hours, and I’ll be on the ground at the Worlds in two weeks – please join us for all the coverage – and I promise it will be coverage you won’t find anywhere else.
– Richard
La Vuelta a Espana 2026 Stage 21 Results
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The post VUELTA’26 Stage 21: Johannessen Wins Granada Thriller as Mas Seals Red appeared first on PezCycling News.
