DISCUSSION - Vuelta a España Stage 9: The road to a fifth Vuelta opens for Primoz Roglic? Did Decathlon suffer defeat? Has Mas taken control?

Enric Mas successfully defended the red jersey by winning Stage 9 of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana atop the Alto de Aitana. The Movistar Team rider dropped Primoz Roglic before beating Oscar Onley in the final sprint.

A 24-rider breakaway formed during the demanding 187.4-kilometre stage, which featured six categorised climbs and approximately 5,200 metres of elevation. Santiago Buitrago collected enough mountain points to secure the polka-dot jersey through the first rest day.

Pavel Sivakov emerged as the final survivor of the breakaway, but Decathlon CMA CGM Team rapidly erased an advantage that had previously exceeded six minutes. The team set a sustained pace on the final climb before Felix Gall launched several attacks.

Mas responded comfortably before making the decisive move with approximately three kilometres remaining. Onley followed, while Roglic briefly regained contact before another acceleration from Mas dropped him inside the final two kilometres.

Onley stayed on Mas’s wheel until the finishing straight but could not overhaul the Spaniard. Mas won by six seconds, with Roglic finishing third at 12 seconds and Gall fourth at 18 seconds, increasing the race leader’s overall advantage before the first rest day.

Rúben Silva of CyclingUpToDate was delighted with the Spanish Movistar rider’s victory and shared his thoughts shortly after the stage had finished.

I don't think there's been a single mountain stage in a Grand Tour this year where we actually had a tactical battle for the win and the GC contenders. At the Giro Vingegaard was unmatched, at the Tour Pogacar was unmatched; and until yesterday, not even Pogacar's rivals spoke as if they were racing against him.

In 24 hours the exact opposite is what the Vuelta is showing. A stage with 5000 climbing meters and a 22-kilometer long final ascent, and yet we have main favourites going head to head, attacking each other in turns.

A lot of tactics, a lot of decisions and a lot of riders that feel human and have good and bad days on the bike. There are three riders who can very realistically win the race heading into week 2 and several others that are threats for the win and also podium.

We have not really seen this in a Grand Tour for years - some have been exciting, but not in this way. This gives off those 2015 Vuelta/2017 Giro/2019 Tour where you've got the top climbers all at a very similar level and essentially everyone forced to race tactically. We got used to W/Kg tests, today we got racing on feel.

All-in-all, I'm really happy to have seen a mountain stage like this. I went in with the belief Felix Gall would be the strongest and only matched by Enric Mas. Decathlon had the upper hand collectively, but their work led to nothing and Gall wasn't able to make the difference - I recon he exposed himself too much.

Mas looked in trouble at first, and then incredibly strong at the finale. Winning the stage in red, extending his lead in the GC, that is just so deserved for a rider that has been heavily criticized for years for no apparent reason.

But you can not say he will win the Vuelta, and you can't say that of any of the favourites.

Oscar Onley looked great, but he now has to claw back time he lost in Castelló; Primoz Roglic looked pretty good actually and his second place right now feels right at a moment where he proved he can win the Vuelta - the first brutal mountain stage has been ticked off.

Gall continues to be Mas' biggest threat, for the harder mountain days and due to the tactical race Decathlon should begin racing.

Richard Carapaz and Mattias Skjelmose are well within range of doing something good, whilst Carapaz and Sepp Kuss could be very dangerous as the Ecuadorian is very aggressive and Kuss has an incredibly strong collective with whom he can attack the race with.

Carlos Silva of CyclingUpToDate closely followed the action on the Vuelta a España’s mountain stage and shared a few brief observations afterwards

Without Tadej Pogacar, today’s stage descended into chaos. As soon as the action began, attacks were flying from all sides. It was absolute madness. I kept looking towards the front of the peloton, trying to understand who was controlling what. To be honest, nobody was controlling anything. The most I saw was one Decathlon rider near the front of the bunch, while the rest of the team was completely lost in the middle of the peloton.

The breakaway was strong and could have made it all the way to the finish, but in my opinion Pavel Sivakov decided to go clear far too early. He used up too much energy, and that strength was missing on the climb to Aitana. Ultimately, that decision proved fatal to his chances.

In the meantime, the peloton finally found a team willing to take control. Movistar came to the front, with Orluis Aular doing the work. The pace was low, however, and that was why the peloton remained together until the penultimate climb of the day. That was when Felix Gall’s team decided to move to the front, increase the intensity and finally bring an end to the stalemate in the bunch.

Movistar do not have the team to defend Enric Mas, but the other teams cannot simply wait for Decathlon to shake things up if they want to achieve anything themselves. It is becoming clear that this race could be decided between Mas, Oscar Onley, Gall and Primoz Roglic.

In fact, Roglic could be a serious contender for the overall victory if he manages to follow the right wheels and uses the individual time trial to gain time on his rivals. Decathlon proved once again today that they have a strong team, but they do not know how to use their numerical advantage to overpower their opponents.

Richard Carapaz, Mattias Skjelmose and Sepp Kuss are out of the general classification battle. Carapaz needs to free himself from the burden of fighting for the overall standings and start hunting stage victories. That is where he shines, and that is when his style of racing gives us a spectacle. Keeping him tied down in pursuit of a minor top-ten finish in a Grand Tour is a waste of time and takes away his killer instinct.

There is still a long way to go in this race. Mas was smiling today because Onley was running very low on energy and failed to launch his sprint early enough. He became boxed in and was unable to make the difference through the final corners.

Today’s stage was extremely demanding, with more than 5,000 metres of elevation gain, but we still have not seen the true high mountains. Aitana is a very long climb, the longest of this Vuelta, but it is not the most difficult climb on which to create major time gaps.

That is why I am continuing to back Felix Gall. I think he suffered a heavy defeat today, but as the saying goes: “He who laughs last, laughs longest.” And I believe Gall’s time to smile is still to come.

CiclismoAlDia’s Javier Rampe closely followed the developments during stage 8 of the Vuelta a España and reflected on the events on the road at the end of the day.

Enric Mas claimed the biggest victory of his professional career. Wearing the Vuelta a España leader’s jersey, and with Oscar Onley and Primoz Roglic breathing down his neck, he produced a powerful acceleration in the final metres of the brutally difficult Alto de Aitana.

The Mallorcan’s triumph came just 24 hours after Tadej Pogacar’s heartbreaking withdrawal following a crash that left him with injuries which have placed the remainder of his season in serious jeopardy. And that is where the question will always remain: what would have happened if the Slovenian had still been in the race today?

With the world’s best rider still firmly in everyone’s thoughts, the road has finally opened up for the Movistar Team leader to win his home Grand Tour. Mas has arrived at this Vuelta with perhaps the best legs of his career. However, he still has two weeks of racing ahead of him, as well as a flat individual time trial of more than 32 kilometres around Jerez that he will somehow have to survive.

Movistar are now celebrating wildly after their leader saw the red jersey fall into his lap. But if Enric wants to reach the heavens in Granada, he will have to maintain the level he showed on Aitana all the way through to stage 21 of the Vuelta a España.

Tadej Pogacar’s withdrawal has completely transformed the Vuelta a España. What had threatened to become another Grand Tour controlled by one untouchable leader is now an unpredictable battle between riders who appear evenly matched. Stage 9 delivered genuine tactical racing, with attacks, hesitation, changing alliances and no team capable of controlling the situation from start to finish.

Enric Mas emerged as the biggest winner. Victory in the red jersey on Alto de Aitana was arguably the finest moment of his career and confirmed that he has arrived at his home Grand Tour with exceptional form. Nevertheless, winning one battle is very different from winning the war. Movistar do not appear strong enough to control the race for another two weeks, while the 32-kilometre individual time trial remains a major obstacle.

Primoz Roglic may therefore be the rider best placed to benefit. He survived the first brutally demanding mountain stage without losing significant time and knows that the time trial should favour him against Mas, Oscar Onley and Felix Gall. Roglic does not need to dominate the mountains. If he follows the right moves, limits his losses and remains patient, he can gradually turn this race in his favour.

Decathlon have the strongest climbing unit, but they must use it more intelligently. Pavel Sivakov attacked too early and paid for that effort on the final ascent, while Gall repeatedly exposed himself without creating the differences he needed. Having several riders at the front means little if those numbers are not converted into tactical pressure. Gall remains one of Mas’ greatest threats, particularly on the harder mountain stages, but Decathlon must force their rivals to react instead of simply setting the pace for them.

Onley also demonstrated that he belongs in the fight for overall victory, although the time he lost in Castelló could prove costly. He reached the finale on Aitana with the leaders but appeared close to his limit and allowed himself to become boxed in before the sprint. At this level, small mistakes can decide an entire Grand Tour.

Carapaz, Skjelmose and Kuss are further behind, but their presence could make the race even harder to control. Carapaz, in particular, would be far more dangerous if released from the responsibility of chasing a minor top-ten position and allowed to race aggressively for stage victories.

Mas deserved his victory and his moment of celebration, but the Vuelta remains wide open. The red jersey may be on his shoulders, yet the balance of power has not been settled. Mas, Roglic, Onley and Gall all have reasons to believe and weaknesses their rivals can exploit. After a season dominated by overwhelming superiority, cycling finally has a Grand Tour in which tactics, timing and instinct could matter just as much as pure power.