Enric Mas wins in red on Aitana and confirms he wants to win La Vuelta

Enric Mas has won the ninth stage of La Vuelta a España 2026 at the Alto de Aitana and has given even more value to his newly acquired red jersey. The Movistar leader was the strongest in the final climb, where he managed to drop Oscar Onley in the last meters and extend his lead over Primož Roglič, Felix Gall, and the rest of the general classification contenders. Jarno Widar once again delivered a remarkable performance, finishing seventh after mixing it up with the best in the decisive stretch.

Enric Mas wins in Aitana and strengthens his lead in a stage where Jarno Widar shone again

The first major mountain day after Tadej Pogačar's withdrawal opened a new race for the general classification. With almost 5,000 meters of ascent and a finish in Aitana, the stage was the first serious test to see who was willing to take command of this new Vuelta.

The breakaway was numerous and of high quality. Among the most active riders were Pavel Sivakov, Santiago Buitrago, Ramses Debruyne, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Stefan Küng, and Alessandro Romele, among others. For much of the day, Movistar allowed the breakaway to maintain several minutes of advantage, while Buitrago took advantage of the different climbs to accumulate points in the mountain classification.

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But the situation changed as they approached the Alto de Aitana. Decathlon CMA CGM began to harden the race with Felix Gall in mind and progressively reduced the gap with the breakaway.

Sivakov held on in front, but the peloton eventually caught up

Pavel Sivakov was one of the last survivors of the breakaway. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider attacked on the final climb and was left alone at the front with more than ten kilometers to go.

However, the pace of the favorites' group ended his chances.

Decathlon maintained a high speed for much of Aitana and reduced the main group until only the strongest riders in the general classification remained. Sepp Kuss was one of the first important names to lose contact as the race began to explode definitively.

Felix Gall launched several attacks, but none were decisive. Primož Roglič, Oscar Onley, and Enric Mas responded, while Richard Carapaz also tried to anticipate.

Mas attacks and Onley is the only one able to follow him

The decisive action came within the last three kilometers. After several moves from Gall and Carapaz, Enric Mas decided to attack personally. The leader accelerated strongly and quickly reached the front of the race. Only Oscar Onley managed to follow him.

The best defense is a good attack.

ENRIC MAS'S OFFENSIVE.#LaVuelta26 #LaCasadelCiclismo pic.twitter.com/rZzN4yGKNV

— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) August 30, 2026

Roglič managed to temporarily return to the duo, while Widar was just a few meters behind, but another acceleration from Mas once again split the race. This time only Onley could stay on his wheel.

Mas continued to set the pace even within the last kilometer, aware that Roglič was still trying to come back from behind. The Spaniard left no room for speculation and also wore down Onley.

The Briton could not surpass him in the final meters and Mas crossed the finish line alone to achieve his first stage victory in this Vuelta and to debut his leadership in the best possible way.

Roglič finished third, 12 seconds behind, and Gall fourth, 18 seconds back. Carapaz lost a bit more, finishing 54 seconds down.

Top 10 of stage 9 of La Vuelta 2026

1. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) — 5:10:40
2. Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS) — +00
3. Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) — +0:12
4. Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) — +0:18
5. Cristián Rodríguez (XDS Astana Team) — +0:20
6. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) — +0:20
7. Jarno Widar (Lotto Intermarché) — +0:25
8. Harold Tejada (XDS Astana Team) — +0:33
9. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) — +0:54
10. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) — +1:41

Top 10 of the general classification of La Vuelta 2026 after stage 9

1. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) — 28:34:03
2. Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) — +1:18
3. Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) — +1:39
4. Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS) — +2:20
5. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) — +3:26
6. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) — +3:55
7. Sepp Kuss (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) — +4:09
8. Harold Tejada (XDS Astana Team) — +4:39
9. Gregor Mühlberger (Decathlon CMA CGM) — +7:33
10. Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious) — +8:05