Enric Mas Wins Stage 9 of the Vuelta a España at Aitana and Strengthens His Lead

Alto de Aitana shows no mercy, and this Wednesday will be remembered as the stage where Enric Mas delivered a show of authority. The Spaniard won stage 9 of the Vuelta a España after a fierce head-to-head battle with British rider Óscar Onley, while Primož Roglič—the veteran who knows three-week races like few others—completed the day's podium. But what makes this stage more than just a stage victory is the context: barely 24 hours earlier, Tadej Pogačar, the great favorite, had abandoned the race following a serious crash. The Vuelta, from one day to the next, lost its main villain and found a new protagonist.

The Context

The Vuelta a España is the last of the three Grand Tours on the cycling calendar (along with the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France), and it's usually the most explosive: it comes at the end of the season, with riders already coming off other competitions, brutal terrain, and a profile that favors pure climbers. Aitana is one of those "trap" climbs: it's not the longest or steepest on the Spanish map, but it sits in a stage with six categorized climbs stacked together, which means that when cyclists reach its final ramp, their legs already carry thousands of meters of elevation gain and hours of wear and tear.

That's where those who "survive" are separated from those who truly "fly." Mas attacked at the perfect moment, resisted Onley's counterattack, and reached the summit first, gaining bonus time that allows him to strengthen his leader's jersey. Pogačar's absence—who had dominated the race's narrative—completely reshuffles expectations: now Mas and Roglič, two riders with three-week race temperament, are emerging as the references all the way to Madrid.

What the Science Says

Winning at a climb like Aitana, at the end of a stage with six ascents, is not just a matter of fresh legs: it's an exercise in fatigue management. Research on fatigue development in self-paced exercise explains that performance in the final stretches of prolonged effort depends on how the athlete perceives and regulates their effort from the start, not just on their gross aerobic capacity (Azevedo et al., 2021). A rider who squanders energy on the early climbs simply doesn't have the "ammunition" for the decisive attack.

Nutrition also plays a role. In long-duration endurance events, the carbohydrate strategy during the race—how much, when, and in what format—is decisive for sustaining intensity in the last 20-30 minutes of maximum effort (Cao et al., 2025). World Tour teams today work with personalized nutrition plans, adjusted stage by stage, and that detail makes the difference between attacking hard in the final kilometer or simply surviving (Sutehall & Pitsiladis, 2025).

And we can't ignore the psychological-physiological factor of Pogačar's withdrawal: in stage races, the sudden exit of the dominant rival alters the tactical dynamics of the entire peloton, something that sports science studies under the umbrella of pacing and decision-making in competition (Cuk et al., 2024). Without the strongest rider setting the pace, other riders like Mas can allow themselves to manage the race with a different logic: less reactive, more proactive.

What It Means for You

You don't need to climb Aitana to apply these lessons to your training:

• Distribute your effort, don't burn it all at the start. Whether in a 10K race or a mountain trail, saving reserves for the final stretch usually pays off more than going out hard and "surviving" the rest.
• Practice your nutrition on long training rides. Don't wait until race day to try gels or carbohydrate drinks; rehearse quantities and timing on your long runs, just like the pros do.
• Learn to read the race (or your own body). Cyclists read the terrain and their rivals. You can read your heart rate, your perceived exertion, and adjust your pace before it's too late.
• Adversity reshuffles the game. A rival's withdrawal—or an injury, a bad day—isn't the end of the race. Sometimes it opens the door for you to perform better than you planned.

References

• Azevedo RA, Silva-Cavalcante MD, Lima-Silva AE. "Fatigue development and perceived response during self-paced endurance exercise: state-of-the-art review." Eur J Appl Physiol, 2021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33389141/
• Cao W, He Y, Fu R. "A Review of Carbohydrate Supplementation Approaches and Strategies for Optimizing Performance in Elite Long-Distance Endurance." Nutrients, 2025. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40077786/
• Sutehall S, Pitsiladis Y. "Personalized Nutrition for the Enhancement of Elite Athletic Performance." Scand J Med Sci Sports, 2025. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40164953/
• Cuk I, Markovic S, Weiss K. "Running Variability in Marathon-Evaluation of the Pacing Variables." Medicina (Kaunas), 2024. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38399506/