La Vuelta 2026 – Stage 09 [LAST 10 KM]

August 30, 2026

81st La Vuelta Ciclista a España 2026 🇪🇸 (2.UWT) ME – Stage 9 – La Vila Joiosa/Villajoyosa – Alto de Aitana. Costa Blanca : 187,4 km

Vuelta a España 2026 is a UCI WorldTour stage race run across varied Spanish terrain, typically combining high mountains, rolling inland roads, technical city finishes, and exposed transitional stages that can all shape the general classification. The route usually asks riders to manage long climbs, steep ramps, heat, and late-race fatigue, with recovery between decisive stages becoming a central factor. Crosswinds on flatter days, narrow roads in historic towns, and sharp changes in gradient can make even moderate stages tactically tense. Race dynamics often revolve around team control in the mountains, breakaways seeking opportunities on transitional terrain, and repeated attacks on summit finishes or steep uphill drags. Typical stage profiles may include alpine-style climbing days, medium-mountain stages, sprint opportunities, and technical finales that reward good positioning. The finishing style varies widely, from bunch sprints on flatter stages to solo arrivals or small-group battles after selective climbs. The race favors consistency, climbing depth, and resilience across three demanding weeks.

Enric Mas (Movistar) scored a statement stage victory at the Vuelta a España, outsprinting Oscar Onley (Netcompany Ineos) in a two-man dash to the line to score his first win in four years atop the Alto de Aitana on stage 9.

The Spaniard, racing his first day in the leader’s red jersey, proved the strongest man of the GC group, attacking 3.2km from the finish of the arduous 187km stage and taking Onley with him.

He led from the front in the final kilometre, duly dispatching the Briton in the closing sprint as Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) rounded out the podium, 12 seconds down.

“Now I understand Tadej. The jersey gives you wings,” Mas joked after the stage, reported AS.

“From yesterday afternoon until now, I think the team has done a perfect job. We’ve been incredibly calm the whole time and controlled the situation very well.

“I’ve been excited like a little kid since the start, and to be able to win with the jersey, I assure you, is a very, very special feeling.”

The race up the Aitana featured a long set-up ride by Decathlon CMA CGM, the French team pushing a high pace to launch Felix Gall’s assault on the red jersey. The Austrian made his move 7km from the line, going time and again, but he couldn’t get any separation from his rivals.

Instead, it was new race leader Mas who made the difference. He matched every move by Gall before making one of his own. Surprisingly, Gall couldn’t match the acceleration and quickly shed time in the race to the top.

Onley went along for the ride as Mas pushed on at the front, while Roglič attempted to bridge across but couldn’t quite do it. Gall was further back, losing time rather than making it up.

The result leaves Mas with an extended lead in the general classification, 1:18 up on Roglič. Gall remains in third place, 1:39 off the lead, while Onley is up to fourth overall, 2:20 down.

How it unfolded
The Vuelta a España continued without former leader Tadej Pogačar on stage 9, with 5,000 metres of elevation – more than any other stage – across six climbs and a summit finish at the Alto de Aitana on the menu.

There were few flat metres during the 187.4km stage and the Puerto de Tárbena (7.2km at 5.4%), Puerto de El Miserat (5.2km at 10%), Puerto de Tollos (4.1km at 5.8%), Puerto de Tudons (7km at 5.3%), and Puerto de Benifallim (4.8km at 5.8%) lay on the route ahead of the summit finish (22km at 5.8%), visited for the first time in a decade.

Attacks flew from the start of the day, including the likes of Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Alexey Lutsenko (NSN), Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), and Andreas Kron (Uno-X Mobility).

Pavel Sivakov was also off the front, part of UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s recalibrated strategy of aggression. At the top of the Puerto de Tárbena, he, Lutsenko and Kron were joined by Alastair Mackellar (EF Education-EasyPost) and Alessandro Romele (XDS-Astana) in the move.

There was more attacking behind, though, and gaps remained small, even 40km into the stage. Only 45 seconds separated the leading quintet and the peloton as a larger chase group raced between them.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG pair Kevin Vermaerke and Finn Fisher-Black were in the chase, as was Buitrago, Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Netcompany Ineos), Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal-QuickStep), Urko Berrade (Kern Pharma), Bruno Armirail (Visma-Lease a Bike), Gijs Leemreize (Picnic-PostNL), and Stefan Küng (Tudor).

The chasers bridged the gap to make it 15 up front after 55km of racing, before hitting the steep inclines of the Puerto de Miserat.

On the road to the Miserat, a group of 12 clipped off the front to try and chase, with Cort, Raúl Garcia Pierna (Movistar), and Filippo Zana (Soudal-QuickStep), Gianni Vermeersch (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Walter Calzoni, Marcel Camprubí, Milan Vader (Pinarello-Q36.5), Atilla Valter (Bahrain Victorious), Pau Martí (NSN), Sylavin Moniquet (Cofidis), José Manuel Díaz (Burgos-Burpellet-BH), and Oliver Peace (Picnic-PostNL) among their number.

Further back, the peloton was led by Movistar on behalf of new race leader Enric Mas, the Spanish squad letting the breakaway riders take a three-minute lead.

The two breakaway groups merged after the Puerto de El Miserat, with the new-look break holding a near five-minute lead heading into the final 100km. Buitrago, with the polka dot jersey in his sights, led the race over the Miserat and the Puerto de Tollos, adding 13 points to his tally and taking the virtual classification lead.

Movistar continued to set the pace on the front behind as Buitrago added another three KOM points over the next climb of the Tudons before several riders, led by Romele, attacked off the front in the valley road afterwards.

It was Romele who led the race over the Puerto de Benifallim, 30 seconds up on lead chaser Camprubí. Six minutes down the climb, Decathlon CMA CGM took over from Movistar in the peloton for their leader Felix Gall.

On the descent, Sivakov joined Camprubí in chasing down Romele, joining him partway down the run towards the base of the Aitana. The trio headed into the final 40km of the race with a 50-second advantage over the strongest of the chasers, including Vermaerke, Paret-Peintre, Debruyne, Buitrago, Vader, Zana, and Kron.

The leading trio hit the Aitana with 1:20 over the rest as Decathlon continued their work in the peloton, hitting the climb with a five-minute deficit. The first move of the climb came from Vader, Buitrago, Paret-Peintre, and Zana, who jumped clear of the chasers, passing a dropped Romele.

Jordan Labrosse ended his mega-turn for Decathlon with 14km to run, leaving five of his Decathlon teammates at the head of the GC group just 3:30 off the leaders. Callum Scotson’s turn took another 1:30 off the gap, while Léo Bisiaux and Matthew Riccitello also assisted the pacemaking before Gregor Mühlberger took over with Gall in his wheel.

Just inside 10km to go, Sivakov saw a chance to go clear and took it, leaving Camprubí behind. His time in the lead was numbered, too, though, and he looked certain to be caught. Mühlberger almost sprinted to the 7km mark before Gall made his move, a minute behind Sivakov.

The Austrian had Mas and a host of other GC contenders on his wheel, and the group swelled as the pace soon slowed. He went again at 6km to go, this time with Widar leading the chase, before, once again, the big names went along.

Carapaz was next to make a move, accelerating clear 5.5km from the finish. The Ecuadorian briefly got clear before there was a regrouping a kilometre later, the favourites – plus a resurgent Buitrago – catching and passing Sivakov.

Gall went again at 3.8km to go, and again was unable to break free. Mas, having matched each previous move, was next up, going at 3.2km to go and taking Onley with him. Roglič was next on the road, almost coming across under the 2km banner while Gall had nothing left to give.

Gall languished 35 seconds down and counting as the Mas hit the final kilometre. Roglič couldn’t match the pace, either, leaving the race for the win up to Mas and Onley in a two-up sprint. It was Mas who led it out with Onley behind, and he held the front all the way to the line to celebrate victory in red at the Vuelta a España.

Results :