Enric Mas won on the Alto de Aitana summit finish to strengthen his Vuelta a España lead on stage 9.

The Movistar rider beat Oscar Onley in a two-up sprint after the pair broke clear late on the final climb. Primož Roglič finished third, 12 seconds behind, after failing to close the final gap.

Mas now leads Roglič by 1:18 overall heading into the first rest day on Monday. Felix Gall sits third at 1:39, while Onley rose to fourth at 2:20.

The victory ended Movistar’s five-year wait for a Vuelta stage win. It also gave Mas a stronger hold on the red jersey after Tadej Pogačar abandoned the race the previous day.

Alto de Aitana attack decides stage 9

The race changed shape without UAE Team Emirates-XRG controlling the peloton for Pogačar. A large 24-rider breakaway formed after repeated attacks on the early climbs.

Movistar took responsibility in the peloton after Mas inherited the race lead following stage 8. The Spanish team allowed the move more than five minutes, with no major overall threats ahead.

Santiago Buitrago was active through the middle of the stage for Bahrain Victorious. He took maximum points on the Puerto de El Miserat, Puerto de Tollos and Puerto de Tudons. That effort put him into the polka-dot jersey by the finish.

Alessandro Romele attacked on the descent of the Puerto de Tudons and built a solo lead. Pavel Sivakov and Marcel Camprubí later bridged across after the Puerto de Benifallim.

The trio began the 22km Alto de Aitana with more than five minutes on the peloton. Romele soon lost contact, leaving Sivakov and Camprubí ahead on the lower slopes.

Decathlon CMA CGM then took command behind for Gall. Jordan Labrosse drove the pace, before his teammates continued reducing the break’s advantage.

Sivakov attacked alone with 10km remaining, but the gap had fallen to two minutes. Gregor Mühlberger then made a final hard pull for Decathlon, and Sepp Kuss lost contact.

Gall attacked with 7km to go, but Mas marked the move comfortably. Roglič, Onley and Richard Carapaz also followed.

Carapaz then countered and briefly opened a small gap. Mas, Gall, Roglič and Onley bridged back before Sivakov was caught.

Mattias Skjelmose returned after earlier losing ground and immediately attacked. Jarno Widar and Harold Tejada followed, but Mas reacted sharply.

The red jersey surged past them with 3km remaining. Gall could not respond, while Onley jumped across to Mas.

Roglič came close to rejoining the leaders, but Mas attacked again. Onley matched the acceleration, and Roglič slipped back.

Mas led into the closing sprint and held Onley behind to win the stage. Onley finished second on the same time, while Roglič crossed 12 seconds later.

Gall finished fourth, 18 seconds down, after trying to limit his losses. Cristián Rodríguez completed the top five at 20 seconds.

Onley rises as Kuss slips

Onley’s ride lifted him to fourth overall and kept him firmly ahead in the youth classification. The British rider now sits 41 seconds off the podium.

Kuss lost nearly two minutes on the stage and dropped to seventh overall. Carapaz and Skjelmose both moved ahead of him in the standings.

Carapaz now ranks fifth at 3:26, with Skjelmose sixth at 3:55. Kuss sits seventh at 4:09.

Stage 9 top 10

• 1. Enric Mas (Movistar), 5:10:40
• 2. Oscar Onley (Netcompany Ineos), same time
• 3. Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), +12s
• 4. Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), +18s
• 5. Cristián Rodríguez (XDS Astana), +20s
• 6. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), same time
• 7. Jarno Widar (Lotto Intermarché), +25s
• 8. Harold Tejada (XDS-Astana), +33s
• 9. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), +54s
• 10. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), +1:41

General classification after stage 9

• 1. Enric Mas (Movistar), 28:34:03
• 2. Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), +1:18
• 3. Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), +1:39
• 4. Oscar Onley (Netcompany-Ineos), +2:20
• 5. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), +3:26
• 6. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), +3:55
• 7. Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike), +4:09
• 8. Harold Tejada (XDS-Astana), +4:39
• 9. Gregor Mühlberger (Decathlon CMA CGM), +7:33
• 10. Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain-Victorious), +8:05

Related Cycle Nation stories

• Pogačar Vuelta Crash Forces Race Leader Out on Stage Eight
• Enric Mas Takes Vuelta Lead After Pogačar Crash And Podium Gesture
• Pogačar water bottle row follows scorching Vuelta finale
• Pogačar wins Vuelta stage 6 after Mas fightback on Puerto El Bartolo
• Pogačar goes off-road, then outsprints Mas on Vuelta stage six