Enric Mas has maintained his overall lead in the Spanish Vuelta following Thursday's individual time trial. He now holds a 1 minute 37 second advantage over Primoz Roglic.
Primoz Roglic, a time trial specialist, gained 33 seconds on Mas during the stage, moving from third to second place overall. Felix Gall dropped from second to third, now 3 minutes 1 second behind Mas.
The 18th stage, a 32.1km route from El Puerto de Santa Maria to Jerez de la Frontera, was won by Swiss rider Stefan Küng. Roglic finished fourth in the stage, 19 seconds behind Küng, while Mas placed 12th, 52 seconds behind the stage winner.
Mas inherited the overall lead after Tadej Pogacar crashed out in the eighth stage. The Grand Tour has three hilly stages remaining, with Stage 19 on Friday covering 210.8km from Velez-Malaga to Penas Blancas. The Vuelta is scheduled to conclude on Sunday in Granada.