"I thought I had a bigger lead" - Santiago Buitrago blames breakaway's failure to win stage 9 partly to poor information
CyclingMonday, 31 August 2026 at 03:00
The ninth stage of Vuelta a Espana could've gone in many directions. Without Tadej Pogacar, there was for the first time a sense of uncertainty about the events of the day. When a strong breakaway finally formed up the road, it seemed as though peloton was quite content to let the escapees fight it out for stage victory, but ultimately it was the red jersey Enric Mas who celebrated atop Alto de Aitana. Santiago Buitrago finished as the best from escaped group in 10th position.
The breakaway of the day featured well over 20 riders, but it started to fall apart already prior to the stage's final ascent. Trio Pavel Sivakov, Alessandro Romele and Marcel Camprubí distanced themselves from the rest of the group on penultimate category 3 climb Puerto de Benifallim, and held a 1-minute advantage at the foot of final summit.
At that time, the peloton was still relatively far from the leaders (4:30), giving a solid chance to riders up the road. But as soon as the peloton accelerated under the heavy pace of Decathlon CMA CGM, Sivakov's advantage begun to shrink considerably. And with that, Buitrago's chances too as he set off on a solo-chase of Sivakov.
Eventually, the Colombian got caught by attacking Richard Carapaz just as he was about to re-join Sivakov. The Bahrain - Victorious rider immediately tried to surprise the hesitating favourites with a counter-attack, but did not manage to get too far and eventually crossed the finish line 1:41 behind.
"Today I wanted to go for the stage win. I gave it my all right to the very end. The information they were giving me from the car wasn’t quite right. I thought I had a bigger lead at the start of the climb, but when I looked back, they were already closing in. It’s a shame."
Polka dots are not a bad consolidation prize
A small reward for his effort today is that Buitrago becomes the new leader of 'King of the Mountains' classification with 29 points, followed by Enric Mas at 24.
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"In the end, such a gruelling stage, and to be caught right at the finish – it’s tough. It would have been even nicer to win today as well. Finishing first is the best feeling. But anyway, I’m happy with the leader’s jersey, and we’ll try to defend it right to the end."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- I was poking Mou(se)! If you can't see the sarcasm then that's on you ! There was no ill will pointed at Tadeg and his crash. Next time try reading the content instead of overreacting!frieders331-08-2026
- He's still crying in his spilled milk over Pogi not being able to win!frieders331-08-2026
- "... and with a seventh pending next month..." Unfortunate timing of this post during yesterday's stage.typurc31-08-2026
- So Pidcock wins the race and the story is about VDP the loser in 32nd place . Not really bias journalism .Come on at least give Tom the creditpaultryan200231-08-2026
- A lot of people claim to be experts but are nothing much (e.g Thijs Zonneveld). But this chap really is an expert.
Rafionain-Glas30-08-2026 - For the past 2 years, all I read from cycling "experts" is "pogi shouldn't do this", "pogi shouldn't do that", "it's too dangerous, he shouldn't do that ride", "it's too soon, he shouldn't go there", "he shouldn't try both races in the same year", etc etc etc. how about a bit of silence from the experts?! it's funny, the only guy that somehow supported him was armstrong: "he'll be back. he knows the record."guster30-08-2026
- I suspect he was chatting with his AI about how, in hindsight, with Pogačar's crash, had Seixas come to the Vuelta he could have won. He then asked it to write the article and it hallucinated over the hypothetical he provided earlier in the chatRafionain-Glas30-08-2026
- Very good points and concerns you mention, it is well taken.. Since I have no acces to the CT images already available I describe likely scenarios. To secure that the non-dislocated C7 fracturure heals unproblematic serial CT images will be performed frequently A theoretic but statistically unlikely problem, could be if the fracture involved the canal where the C7 nerve root departs, and more repair bone is generated that compress the nerve. That is very unlikely and can be easily solved by surgery. Tadej is so beloved, not only because he is the undisputed best rider, but also because he is humid, generous and humuoristic and boyish positive and competitive. guy My guess he will be back as strong as ever in the 2027 season. His worst enemy could be himself if he does not take the needed time to recover, but hopefully he will listen to independant sane medical advisors.Jakob30-08-2026
- A profoundly touching moment from a true champion. Pure heart and absolute class, Pidders.anonymouscyclist30-08-2026
- I think the only way for van der Poel to win it is to skip the Tour and race lots of MTB, splitting his season into classics, MTB and CX. That way he'd start from the front row.Rafionain-Glas30-08-2026
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