Enric Mas wins the Vuelta a España and proves himself worthy of La Roja

ALTO DE AITANA. COSTA BLANCA – The day after Tadej Pogacar's retirement, Enric Mas (Movistar), wearing the leader's jersey, asserted his authority at the Vuelta with a spectacular stage victory on the Alto de Aitana. He fought from the start in a grueling mountain stage, with over 5,000 meters of elevation gain. Mas responded to repeated attacks from his rivals, starting with Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM). In the end, he outdistanced everyone except Oscar Onley (Netcompany Ineos), who resisted the Spaniard's attack but was unable to overtake him at the summit. Mas took his second stage victory at the Vuelta, eight years after his first. He is the first Spaniard to take the red jersey as race leader since 2018. And now he has become the first Spaniard to win a Vuelta stage wearing the red jersey since Alberto Contador in Ancares (stage 20) in 2014. In the general classification, Mas now has a 1:18 lead over Roglic. Gall is 1:39 behind, and Onley moves up to 4th place (+2:20).