Spain's Enric Mas made a late attack on the climb to Alto de Aitana to win stage nine of the Vuelta a Espana on Sunday, as the Movistar rider retained his overall lead and the red jersey. Mas, who took the lead after Tadej Pogacar crashed out on Saturday, lived up to the red jersey as he won his first Grand Tour stage since 2018, preserving his energy throughout the mountainous ride and flawlessly executing the final attack.
Briton Oscar Onley (Netcompany Ineos) followed Mas into the final kilometre but lost the sprint to the finish line and had to settle for second place. Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), who is second in the overall standings, came in third. Four-time Vuelta winner Roglic trails Mas by a minute and 18 seconds in the general classification. Felix Gall, who finished fourth on the day, remained third overall.
LEADERS IGNORE EARLY MOVES
Hours before the ninth stage began, Roglic's compatriot Pogacar posted a picture of himself in a hospital bed on Instagram, set to the 1977 song "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees. Mas, wearing the red jersey for the first time, stayed in the peloton along with his closest general classification competitors as they ignored early attacks.
By the time the riders started the climactic 22 km climb to Alto de Aitana, several breakaway riders had split into groups, with Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Pavel Sivakov and Marcel Camprubi (Pinarello-Q36.5) leading the charge four minutes ahead of the peloton. Sivakov, who finished ninth in 2024, pushed ahead with 10 km remaining, as Camprubi scrambled to follow the Frenchman.
MAS ATTACKS
Halfway up the climb, about 20 riders including Mas and other red jersey contenders were rapidly reducing the gap to the runaway leader, with Gall's Decathlon CMA CGM teammate Gregor Muehlberger setting the pace.
With just a minute between them and Sivakov, Gall attacked and others including Mas and Roglic followed. They caught Sivakov and effortlessly moved past him as Santiago Buitrago launched an attack with about four kilometres left in the stage.
Soon after, Mas launched his own attack as Oscar Onley kept up with him, while Roglic followed them into the final kilometre. Mas, who had refused to celebrate or wear the red jersey on Saturday after Pogacar's crash, finally celebrated as he crossed the finish line, raising his arm to cheering spectators, with Onley just behind him. The race continues on Tuesday with a hilly 184.7 km ride from Alcaraz to Elche de la Sierra.
