Slovenia's cycling prodigy wins Vuelta a Espana stage 12

Slovenia's cycling prodigy Jakob Omrzel won stage 12 of the Vuelta a Espana in his debut Grand Tour appearance.

He was part of the breakaway and had the most strength left in the final climb atop Calar Alto, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

The 20-year-old Bahrain-Victorious rider was one of the most prominent riders in the breakaway, demonstrating his strength on the final climb after launching an attack about 12 km from the finish. He crossed the finish line on Calar Alto with a commanding lead.

Second place went to Spaniard Urko Berrade (+1:56) and third to Columbian rider Santiago Buitrago (+2:13).

In the general classification, Spaniard Enric Mas has increased his overall lead ahead of Slovenian rider Primož Roglič to 1:45 minutes.

Mas crossed the finish line 2:56 minutes behind Omrzel but 27 seconds ahead of Roglič.

Omrzel has advanced to sixth place overall, 4:59 minutes behind Mas.

In a statement after the race, Omrzel praised his team.

"We all get along very well and we know our roles," he said, adding that they joked they functioned as if they were playing a game on PlayStation. "We can achieve what we set our minds to," he added.

Omrzel has become the fifth Slovenian to take a stage win at the Vuelta. Roglič has collected the most, 15, while Tadej Pogačar has won 6, including three this year, before having to abandon the race after a crash in stage 8.

Omrzel has also become the youngest Slovenian to win a stage in a three-week race, a record previously held by Pogačar since his debut at the Vuelta in 2019.

"It's just statistics, it does not mean anything. But it's a nice statistic," Omrzel said.

This is also Omrzel's second career win after he became the national champion in the road race in Celje last year.

Photo Instagram/jakob_omrzel