Vuelta stage 15 shortened due to extreme heat, Mas consolidates lead

Vuelta a Espana organisers said they were shortening Sunday's stage 15 route from Palma del Rio to Cordoba by around 80 kilometres because of extreme heat.

It is the second Grand Tour this year to have had to take such measures due to the weather, following the lead of July's Tour de France.

"Due to the high temperatures forecast for tomorrow, La Vuelta has modified the route of stage 15 following the activation of the extreme weather protocol," organisers Unipublic said in a statement on Saturday.

The 15th stage was originally planned to be a 189.7km route, but it has been chopped down to 110.2km, with temperatures expected to reach as high as 39C in Cordoba.

Unipublic said that the decision was made "with the aim of protecting the health of the riders and ensuring the best possible conditions for the competition".

Spain's state meteorological agency has issued an orange alert (the second-highest level) for extreme heat on Sunday in the region, with temperatures potentially hitting 40C in some places.

Overall leader Enric Mas extended his lead on Saturday as he finished the 14th stage 25 seconds ahead of veteran four-time Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic, who slipped from second to third overall behind Felix Gall.

Extreme weather has become an increasing burden in Grand Tour races, with May's Giro d'Italia grappling with dangerous snow and ice in some mountain stages.

Tour organisers ASO -- who own Unipublic -- cut 30 kilometres from the ninth stage in July after authorities placed the Correze region on red alert for an "exceptionally intense heatwave".

Temperatures had topped 35C for much of the race, with some stages reaching more than 40C.

It was the first time in the Tour's history that a stage had been shortened because of heat.

Riders used ice vests, ice socks and cold drinks among other methods to try to keep their body temperatures down.

On Saturday, German Marco Brenner fought off Santiago Buitrago to claim a mountaintop victory from a long-range breakaway.

Spain's Carlos Rodriguez finished the stage third at the end of the 154.5 kilometre ride from Jaen to La Pandera and climbed into the top 10 overall.

Team Movistar's Mas leads Gall by 2min 06sec with Roglic just four seconds back ahead of Sunday's stage.

"I had bad memories of this climb, because I think it was in 2022 that Primoz put 30-something seconds into me," said Mas.

"Today was different. Luckily, it was the other way around. Little by little, we're gaining time."

A large early breakaway established a gap of more than seven minutes on the peloton, including Mas.

On the final climb up the Sierra de la Pandera Buitrago and Brenner took the lead with just over three kilometres remaining.

Buitrago attacked first but Brenner came past him to claim victory.

"I cannot really believe it," said Brenner.

"Until now, I was not feeling like myself, and I was struggling with some sickness early in the race and had a crash.

"I really wanted to show myself, but also my team-mates who have been working really hard for me the whole time, that I can be up there."

Further down the slope, the red jersey-wearing Mas and Gall dropped Roglic and Richard Carapaz in the general classification battle.

Roglic finished 25 seconds behind Spaniard Mas and Gall, with Ecuadorian Carapaz, fourth overall, a further six seconds back.

Cycling superstar Tadej Pogacar was leading the race until a crash on stage eight forced him to abandon his bid to win a first Vuelta and become only the ninth man to complete the full set of Grand Tours.

He underwent surgery on a fractured collarbone and confirmed on Saturday that his season was over.