Irishman Eddie Dunbar celebrated his third career Vuelta a España stage victory, marking his team's first-ever grand tour win, with a decisive late attack near the summit of Penas Blancas, Estepona. The Pinarello-Q36.5 rider was part of a four-man group that escaped on the challenging category-one climb. Despite being dropped by Santiago Buitrago, the King of the Mountains leader, Dunbar caught up and surged ahead in the final 500 meters to secure the win.

In the general classification, Primoz Roglic attempted to close the gap on race leader Enric Mas with aggressive moves in the closing kilometers, but the top six positions remained unchanged ahead of the critical 'queen stage' on Saturday.

Dunbar expressed disbelief at his performance, stating, “I really didn’t expect this today... I had two teammates in the break as well, which helped.” He reflected on his challenging year, recovering from a significant accident that sidelined him for three months.

The stage, a 210km route from Velez-Malaga to Penas Blancas, saw a frantic pace from the start. Richard Carapaz made an early attack but was thwarted. A 20-rider group formed, with Movistar regaining control of the peloton after a tough first half.

As the final climb approached, Roglic’s Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team pressured Mas, but the breakaway riders battled fiercely. Ultimately, Dunbar finished 14 seconds ahead of Buitrago, with teammate Thomas Gloag taking third place.

In the peloton, EF Education-EasyPost set a punishing pace, leaving only the top six in contention. Mas managed to fend off attacks from Roglic and Jakob Omrzel. With just two days remaining, Mas leads Roglic by 1’37” and is on the brink of his first grand tour victory. The next stage promises further challenges with three category-one climbs and a daunting hors-categorie finish.