Enric Mas wins Vuelta stage 9, extends overall lead

Enric Mas solidified his position as the new leader of the 2026 Vuelta a España by winning the grueling ninth stage to the Alto de Aitana on Sunday, August 30, a day after race favorite Tadej Pogačar was forced to withdraw due to a crash. The victory by the Spanish Movistar Team rider came after he inherited the race lead following Pogačar's abandonment on Saturday, August 29. Pogačar, who had been leading the race by 3 minutes and 50 seconds, crashed during Stage 8 and sustained a concussion, a broken left collarbone, and a C7 cervical fracture. The injuries are expected to end his 2026 racing season. Mas, who started Stage 8 nearly four minutes behind, went on to win that stage but declined to wear the red leader's jersey on the podium out of respect for his fallen rival. On Sunday, Mas took full command. The 31-year-old attacked decisively in the final three kilometers of the mountain summit finish, dropping all his general classification rivals except for Britain's Oscar Onley of Netcompany-Ineos. Mas then outsprinted Onley to claim the stage victory, his second career Grand Tour stage win and his first since 2018.