Swiss Kung wins Vuelta stage 18, Mas retains healthy overall lead

JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA, Spain, Sept 10 : Swiss rider Stefan Kung claimed a second career time trial win on stage 18 of the Vuelta a Espana, finishing ahead of Briton Callum Thornley and Portuguese Joao Almeida.

In the general classification, Movistar rider Enric Mas maintained a healthy lead of one minute 37 seconds over Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's Slovenian Primoz Roglic, who finished fourth in the stage and moved up to second overall.

Mas, who is hoping to become the first Spanish rider to win the Vuelta since Alberto Contador in 2014, came into the day with a 2:06 lead over Austrian Felix Gall, with Roglic a further four seconds behind.

The question was how much of a lead Mas could hold onto, with the individual time trial highlighted as the primary opportunity for Roglic to close the gap before the final two mountain stages.

The 32.1km flat run on Spain's south coast saw riders speed through the heat, with 149 of them setting off at one-minute intervals. Thornley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) set the early pace, finishing with a time of 35:25.

Another 88 riders went down the ramp before Tudor Pro Cycling's Kung stole in ahead of Thornley by three seconds. Almeida completed the podium, nine seconds behind Kung.

"It's always a hard TT in the third week of a Grand Tour. You just have to go as hard as you can and try to hang on," said a visibly exhausted Kung at the finish line.

"Honestly, some corners looked super slippery today, so I was not so confident in that but I had power to push until the finish and I think that's where I made the difference."

After a second stage win for Tudor Pro Cycling, Kung credited his whole team with the victory once it was confirmed.

ROGLIC UNABLE TO APPLY PRESSURE ON MAS

Roglic has won four Vuelta time