Henok holds 36th after Vuelta time trial in Jerez

Henok Mulubrhan retained 36th place overall at the Vuelta a España on Thursday after completing the race’s second individual time trial in Jerez de la Frontera.

The Eritrean finished Stage 18 in 102nd place, covering the 32.1 kilometres from El Puerto de Santa María in 40 minutes and 10 seconds. He was 4:48 behind stage winner Stefan Küng, who clocked 35:22.

Mulubrhan’s cumulative time now stands at 62:19:01. His deficit to race leader Enric Mas widened by 3:56 to 1:33:03, although his overall position was unchanged. He remains on 22 points, placing him 45th in the points classification.

XDS Astana teammates Yevgeniy Fedorov and Harold Tejada finished 15th and 16th respectively, both recording 36:23. Mas retained the red jersey after finishing 12th on the stage.

Friday’s Stage 19 takes the peloton 210.8 kilometres from Vélez-Málaga to Peñas Blancas above Estepona. Two second-category climbs precede the final 18.7-kilometre ascent, averaging 6.5%. With three stages remaining, Mulubrhan faces a sustained climbing test after the flatter roads that brought his strongest finishes earlier in the race.