SPANIARD ENRIC MAS extended his Vuelta a España lead, a day after previous red jersey wearer Tadej Pogačar crashed out of the race, by winning Sunday’s mountainous ninth stage.
Mas beat Briton Oscar Onley in an uphill two-man sprint to claim the win and extend his lead over four-time former winner Primož Roglič, who finished third at 12 seconds.
The Slovenian trails Spaniard Mas by 1min 18sec, with Austrian Felix Gall, who shipped 18sec in finishing fourth, third overall at 1min 39sec.
Onley, who leads the best young rider category, moved up a place to fourth at 2min 20sec as former winner Sepp Kuss tumbled three places to seventh overall after coming home 1min 44sec behind Mas.
Five-time Tour de France winner Pogačar had been dominating the race until he crashed heavily on Saturday, breaking his collarbone.
He was leading Mas by 3min 50sec when he fell, and he also suffered a concussion.
Advertisement
He is due to undergo surgery on his broken collarbone.
“Now I understand Tadej — the red jersey gives you wings,” smiled Mas, who said that he felt in the form of his life.
His victory on the 187.4km mountainous stage from Villajoyosa to Alto de Aitana, ended his Spanish team Movistar’s five-year win drought at their home Grand Tour.
“The team was 10 out of 10, we controlled the situation really well, and I felt good in the finish,” added the stage winner.
Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar finished 86th, while Darren Rafferty was 93rd.
Dunbar is 49th in the general rankings, and Rafferty is 107th.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Enric Mas extends Vuelta lead with stage 9 victory
SPANIARD ENRIC MAS extended his Vuelta a España lead, a day after previous red jersey wearer Tadej Pogačar crashed out of the race, by winning Sunday’s mountainous ninth stage.
Mas beat Briton Oscar Onley in an uphill two-man sprint to claim the win and extend his lead over four-time former winner Primož Roglič, who finished third at 12 seconds.
The Slovenian trails Spaniard Mas by 1min 18sec, with Austrian Felix Gall, who shipped 18sec in finishing fourth, third overall at 1min 39sec.
Onley, who leads the best young rider category, moved up a place to fourth at 2min 20sec as former winner Sepp Kuss tumbled three places to seventh overall after coming home 1min 44sec behind Mas.
Five-time Tour de France winner Pogačar had been dominating the race until he crashed heavily on Saturday, breaking his collarbone.
He was leading Mas by 3min 50sec when he fell, and he also suffered a concussion.
He is due to undergo surgery on his broken collarbone.
“Now I understand Tadej — the red jersey gives you wings,” smiled Mas, who said that he felt in the form of his life.
His victory on the 187.4km mountainous stage from Villajoyosa to Alto de Aitana, ended his Spanish team Movistar’s five-year win drought at their home Grand Tour.
“The team was 10 out of 10, we controlled the situation really well, and I felt good in the finish,” added the stage winner.
Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar finished 86th, while Darren Rafferty was 93rd.
Dunbar is 49th in the general rankings, and Rafferty is 107th.
– © AFP 2026
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Boost Enric Mas Oscar Onley Primoz Roglic Tadej Pogacar vuelta