JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA, Spain (AP) — Enric Mas held on to his overall lead in a key individual time trial at the Spanish Vuelta on Thursday. Only three hilly stages remain in the Grand Tour.
Time trial specialist Primož Roglič moved up from third to second overall and gained 33 seconds on Mas but remained 1 minute, 37 seconds behind the Spaniard.
Felix Gall dropped from second to third, 3:01 behind Mas, who has held the overall lead since inheriting it from Tadej Pogacar after the five-time Tour de France champion crashed out in the eighth stage.
Swiss rider Stefan Küng won the 18th stage, which followed a 32.1-km (20-mile) route from El Puerto de Santa Maria to Jerez de la Frontera.
Roglič was fourth in the stage, 19 seconds behind Küng, and Mas placed 12th, 52 seconds behind.
Stage 19 on Friday is a 210.8-kilometer (131-mile) leg from Velez-Malaga to Penas Blancas.
The Vuelta ends Sunday in Granada.
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