Ireland's Eddie Dunbar secured a thrilling victory in the 19th stage of the Vuelta a Espana, while Spain's Enric Mas maintained his overall lead with only two stages left in the competition.

The challenging stage on Friday covered 210.8km from Velez-Malaga to Penas Blancas. Dunbar, aged 30, made a decisive move by catching and overtaking Santiago Buitrago just 300 metres before the finish line. Both riders were part of a four-man breakaway, with Buitrago, the King of the Mountains leader, launching an attack with two kilometres remaining.

Dunbar initially held back but executed a perfect counter-attack, finishing 14 seconds ahead of Buitrago, while his British teammate Thomas Gloag took third place.

In the overall standings, four-time Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic reduced the gap to race leader Mas by 33 seconds during Thursday's time trial. However, Mas managed to retain his lead despite pressure from Roglic and Richard Carapaz on the 18km climb to the finish.

Britain's Oscar Onley finished alongside the leading group, maintaining his fifth position overall and keeping the white jersey for the best young rider.

Heading into Saturday's 186.8km mountain stage from La Calahorra to Collado del Alguacil, Mas holds a comfortable lead of one minute and 37 seconds. The 31-year-old aims to secure his first Grand Tour title as the race wraps up on Sunday with a 112km stage in Granada.