The Vuelta a España’s crucial Stage 18 individual time trial takes place on Thursday afternoon, with Enric Mas, Primož Roglič and Felix Gall the final three riders to start the 32.1km test from El Puerto de Santa María to Jerez de la Frontera.
The first rider, Mathias Norsgaard, leaves the start ramp at 14:07 local time, 13:07 BST, but there are major names spread throughout the afternoon. Ethan Hayter is out almost immediately, Stefan Küng and Wout van Aert provide two of the most important stage-winning benchmarks later on, and the fight for the red jersey begins in earnest shortly before 16:00 BST.
Mas is last away at 15:55 BST, two minutes after Gall and four minutes after Roglič. That spacing means the Vuelta leader will know exactly how his biggest rival is performing as he tries to protect the 2:10 advantage he has accumulated through the mountains.
The full course is covered in our Vuelta a España Stage 18 preview, but for viewers trying to work out when they actually need to watch, the important start times are below.
Vuelta a España Stage 18 key start times
Spain is one hour ahead of the UK, so all CEST start times are converted to BST below.
| Rider | Local start | UK start |
|---|---|---|
| Mathias Norsgaard | 14:07 | 13:07 BST |
| Ethan Hayter | 14:11 | 13:11 BST |
| Ivo Oliveira | 14:36 | 13:36 BST |
| Matthew Brennan | 14:57 | 13:57 BST |
| João Almeida | 15:04 | 14:04 BST |
| Iván Romeo | 15:10 | 14:10 BST |
| Bruno Armirail | 15:35 | 14:35 BST |
| Stefan Küng | 15:37 | 14:37 BST |
| Wout van Aert | 15:50 | 14:50 BST |
| Mikel Landa | 15:58 | 14:58 BST |
| Sepp Kuss | 16:37 | 15:37 BST |
| Mattias Skjelmose | 16:43 | 15:43 BST |
| Jakob Omrzel | 16:45 | 15:45 BST |
| Oscar Onley | 16:47 | 15:47 BST |
| Richard Carapaz | 16:49 | 15:49 BST |
| Primož Roglič | 16:51 | 15:51 BST |
| Felix Gall | 16:53 | 15:53 BST |
| Enric Mas | 16:55 | 15:55 BST |
The first 137 riders generally leave at one-minute intervals before the gaps increase to two minutes for the highest-placed riders. That gives the final part of the stage a simple rhythm, with the main GC contenders appearing one after another.
Ethan Hayter is one of the first riders on course
Fans interested in the stage victory have a reason to watch from almost the opening minute.
Ethan Hayter starts at 13:11 BST, only four minutes after Norsgaard. The Soudal Quick-Step rider missed victory in the opening Monaco time trial by just 0.09 seconds and could establish a benchmark that remains relevant for much of the afternoon.
Thursday’s course is very different from Monaco. At 32.1km and predominantly flat, it places far more emphasis on sustained power and aerodynamics than repeated acceleration. Hayter has already shown his speed against the clock during this Vuelta, so his early time will provide the first indication of what is required to win the stage.
Ivo Oliveira is another potential reference at 13:36 BST, before five-time stage winner Matthew Brennan starts at 13:57 BST. Brennan arrives in Jerez after winning Stage 17 in Sevilla, although the time trial is naturally a very different challenge from the sprint stages on which he has dominated.
Photo Credit: Unipublic / Cxcling / Antonio BaixauliIván Romeo starts at 14:10 BST
Iván Romeo leaves at 14:10 BST and has two reasons to produce a serious ride.
The Spaniard is capable of challenging for a strong result himself on a long, flat time trial, but his performance will also give Movistar useful information before Mas starts more than 90 minutes later.
Romeo can provide feedback on the wind, road surface and the succession of roundabouts approaching Jerez. By the time Mas rolls down the ramp, Movistar should have a clear picture of the conditions and where time can be won or lost.
João Almeida starts six minutes before Romeo at 14:04 BST, giving UAE Team Emirates-XRG another rider worth following during this earlier part of the stage.
Küng and Van Aert make 14:35 BST the first major viewing window
For anyone who cannot watch the whole time trial, 14:35 BST is the first really useful point to tune in.
Bruno Armirail starts at that time, followed two minutes later by Stefan Küng at 14:37 BST. Küng is one of the clearest stage-winning candidates because the Jerez course suits his ability to maintain a high speed over a prolonged effort far better than the short Monaco opener.
Wout van Aert then starts at 14:50 BST.
Van Aert has already won twice during this Vuelta while playing a major role in several of Brennan’s victories. The time trial finally gives him a stage where his own result can take priority throughout.
By the time Van Aert leaves, Küng will already have been racing for 13 minutes and Hayter’s finishing time should have been established long before. The stage-winning picture should therefore be taking shape well before the GC riders appear.
The riders still competing on Thursday can be checked against the full Vuelta a España 2026 start list.
The final GC riders start from 15:37 BST
The general classification battle begins to dominate the stage from 15:37 BST, when Sepp Kuss starts.
Mattias Skjelmose follows at 15:43, with Jakob Omrzel at 15:45 and Oscar Onley at 15:47 BST. From Onley onwards, the five leading riders are separated by only two minutes each.
Onley is followed by Richard Carapaz at 15:49 BST, before the three riders currently occupying the Vuelta podium take over the road.
That final sequence is:
15:51 BST – Primož Roglič
15:53 BST – Felix Gall
15:55 BST – Enric Mas
There will be no long wait between the main GC efforts. By the time Mas starts, Roglič will already have four minutes of racing in his legs and should be approaching the opening section of the course at full speed.
Photo Credit: GettyPrimož Roglič starts at 15:51 BST
Roglič leaves the ramp at 16:51 local time, 15:51 BST.
He starts Thursday third overall, four seconds behind Gall and 2:10 behind Mas. Moving ahead of Gall should be the straightforward part of his afternoon. The much bigger question is how much of Mas’s advantage he can remove before the race returns to the mountains.
Our separate analysis of how much time Roglič needs to take from Mas puts around 90 seconds as the key target. That would leave Roglič approximately 40 seconds behind before the summit finishes at Peñas Blancas and Collado del Alguacil.
The course has intermediate timing points after 11.7km and 22.1km. Because Mas starts four minutes later, his team will know Roglič’s time at each checkpoint before the red jersey reaches the same point.
That should make the developing gap between them one of the easiest parts of the stage to follow.
Felix Gall starts at 15:53 BST
Gall starts two minutes after Roglič at 15:53 BST.
The Austrian is second overall, just four seconds ahead of Roglič, but defending that position on Thursday is unlikely to be his main concern. A long, flat individual time trial strongly favours Roglič, while Gall’s best opportunities come on the two mountain stages that follow.
His job in Jerez is therefore damage limitation.
If Gall can stay reasonably close to Roglič, he remains a serious threat heading towards Peñas Blancas and Collado del Alguacil. A large loss would make his route to the red jersey considerably harder, although the strongest climbing performances of his Vuelta have come during the second half of the race.
Enric Mas is the final rider at 15:55 BST
Mas starts last at 15:55 BST, carrying a 2:06 advantage over Gall and 2:10 over Roglič.
He does not need to match Roglič against the clock. The objective is to make sure the cushion he built at Aitana, Calar Alto and La Pandera remains large enough to defend over the final mountain weekend.
A loss of around a minute would still leave Mas with more than a minute in hand. Losing approximately 90 seconds would cut his advantage over Roglič to 40 seconds and make Friday and Saturday far less comfortable. Anything close to two minutes would effectively restart the Vuelta with two mountain stages remaining.
Mas also has the luxury of starting last. Every important split will be available to Movistar while he is racing, allowing him to judge his effort against Roglič rather than worrying about the fastest specialist on the stage.
What time should UK fans start watching?
There are three obvious viewing windows depending on what you want from Stage 18.
From 13:07 BST: Watch from the start if you want the complete stage. Hayter begins at 13:11 and could set an important benchmark almost immediately.
From 14:35 BST: The best option for following the stage victory. Armirail, Küng and Van Aert all start within 15 minutes, while the strongest early times should already be known.
From 15:35 BST: The essential window for the general classification. Kuss starts at 15:37, followed by the remaining high-placed riders before Roglič, Gall and Mas start between 15:51 and 15:55.
For anyone only interested in the battle for the red jersey, 15:45 BST is the time to be watching. Onley starts two minutes later, Carapaz follows, and within another eight minutes Roglič, Gall and Mas will all be on the course.
With the last rider scheduled to finish at around 16:30 BST, that final 45-minute period should contain everything needed to determine whether Mas leaves Jerez with control of the Vuelta or whether Roglič has dragged himself back into striking distance.
UK viewers can find the broadcast options in our guide to watching the 2026 Vuelta a España in the UK.
