Enric Mas conquers Aitana and strengthens Vuelta lead

Enric Mas produced one of the finest performances of his career to win stage 9 of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana atop Alto de Aitana. On his first day wearing the red jersey, the Movistar leader attacked 3.2 kilometres from the finish, took Oscar Onley with him and beat the Briton in the final sprint after 187.4 kilometres and 5,166 metres of climbing. It was Mas's first Vuelta stage victory since La Gallina in 2018 and only the second of his career.

The hardest stage of the opening week featured six classified climbs and a 15-rider breakaway. UAE Team Emirates-XRG changed its strategy on its first day without Tadej Pogacar and placed Pavel Sivakov in the move. The Frenchman attacked alone shortly before the final ten kilometres and began the decisive section of Aitana at the head of the race, but was caught 4.5 kilometres from the summit.

Decathlon CMA CGM controlled the final climb to set up Felix Gall, who attacked repeatedly from around seven kilometres out. His accelerations reduced the group of favourites and ended the breakaway, but Mas answered every move. When the red jersey launched his own attack, Gall could not respond and began to lose time despite all his team's earlier work.

Onley was the only rider able to follow Mas and confirmed his emergence among the leading Grand Tour contenders. Primoz Roglic tried to bridge across but finished third, 12 seconds behind. Mas led through the final kilometre and left Onley no opportunity in the sprint, celebrating a victory that transformed a jersey inherited in painful circumstances into one defended on the road.

The result gives Mas a stronger position before the first rest day. He now leads Roglic by 1:18 and Gall by 1:39. Onley climbs to fourth overall at 2:20, while Richard Carapaz is fifth at 3:26. The gaps remain manageable, but Aitana established Mas as the strongest rider of the first week following Pogacar's withdrawal.

Movistar controlled the race calmly from the start and Mas completed the team's work with both victory and time gains. Roglic remains his closest rival, Onley has entered the battle with a major climbing display, Gall must recover from a costly offensive and UAE has shown that it will race aggressively for stage wins. After a dramatic weekend, the Vuelta reaches its rest day with a new leader who has already proved that he can defend red by attacking.