Overview
- Hours after crashing on stage eight, Tadej Pogacar was ruled out with a broken collarbone and a concussion and is due to undergo surgery.
- Mas won the mountainous stage nine on Sunday, extending his overall lead and recording his first Grand Tour stage victory since 2018 while ending Movistar’s five‑year Vuelta stage drought.
- The general classification now sees Mas leading Primož Roglič by about 1 minute 18 seconds, with Felix Gall roughly 1:39 back and Oscar Onley about 2:20 behind Mas.
- With Pogacar gone the race is widely regarded as open and the main contenders are Mas, Roglič, Gall and Onley, each offering different strengths between pure climbing and time‑trial ability.
- The coming high‑altitude summit finishes and the late individual time trial will be decisive, forcing teams to recalibrate tactics and placing heavy psychological pressure on Mas as Spain’s new leader.