“Fortunately, no other major injuries and no neurological fallout. He will require clavicle surgery, which will be delayed due to concussion precautions. Tadej remains under the care of our medical team, and we’ll provide further updates following the surgery.”
The operation will be carried out in Barcelona once the concussion has sufficiently healed. A decision on whether he will be riding again this year will be made afterwards, though it seems doubtful considering the nature of the injuries.
The five-time Tour winner apparently rode over a large rock on the side of the road, then veered sharply to the right, colliding with other riders and then hitting the asphalt with his head and shoulder. Bleeding from the face, he tried to get back on his bike, but the pain was too much. He was then taken to hospital by ambulance.
With Pogačar out of the race, the race has been thrown wide open. As stage 9 began, the new race leader was the home favourite, Enric Mas (Movistar), with Primož Roglič (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe) in second, at 1:00, and Felix Gall (Decathlon GMA GCA) sitting third, 1:11 adrift.
Now for some good news
The disastrous stage 8 ended in a bunch sprint, which was won by the 34-year-old Frenchman Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), who took his first-ever Grand Tour stage win by nipping Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Jordi Meeus (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe) at the line after a chaotic and crash-filled finale.
“I waited a lot of time for this victory, 13 years,” the delighted Coquard told TNT Sports. “I finished second lots of times in Grand Tours, and I am 34 years old. I’m so proud, and very happy.”
He went on to praise his Cofidis teammates, saying: “My team did a perfect job. We don’t have a lot of top lead-out men, but I had Alexis [Renard] today. All of [our] climbers tried to take me to 5 km to the finish line in a good position with Alexis, and after that, I just followed Alexis. At 500 metres, I saw Jordi Meeus, and I knew he was very fast in this type of finish.
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“So I waited and waited… I made my effort at the right moment, using the draft, and I’m so proud and very happy. I’ve waited a long time for this victory, and I’ve worked a lot as well. It’s an amazing, amazing day.” Then, with a broad smile, he added: “Maybe I climb a little better now, but I’m fast again.”
Visma–Lease a Bike had the stage pencilled in for two-stage winner Matthew Brennan. But the Vuelta debutant got caught up in the usual bunch sprint chaos and was well out of touch when teammates Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte started their lead-out run. Brennan finished an unhappy 10th. “A lot of people thought they were superheroes today,” he complained after the race. “I’m willing to risk it a little bit, but I guess some people are happy to fall off for the risk of the win. I’m not super comfortable with that.”
Ride and learn, Matthew. Ride and learn.
Life goes on in the Vuelta
Sunday’s stage 9, the first stage of the Vuelta’s post-Pogačar era, began with a series of unsuccessful attacks, as if the riders still didn’t know how to behave on the road without him. The peloton was led at a comfortable pace by Mas’ Movistar, which did not want to be worried about potential breakaways. A 24-rider group eventually formed near the summit of the Puerto de Toudons, after about 118 km of chaos. But it didn’t last long, as Alessandro Romele (XDS Astana) attacked on the Toudons descent and soon had a handsome lead of 50 seconds with 64 km left to ride.
The 187.4 km course from La Vila Joiosa/Villajoyosa to Alto de Aitana had 4,940 metres of altitude gain, the most climbing of any stage in this year’s Vuelta. But while the stages were generally long, most of them were not exceedingly steep and so would not offer a GC rider the opportunity to gain a lot of time on his rivals (unless his name was Pogačar). This is why Mas and Movistar were content to let the breakaway make it to the finish. But Gall and Decathlon did not agree. They eventually took over at the front of the peloton and slowly reduced the gap, which had reached 6 minutes.
When the first riders reached the final climb, the Alto de Aitana (21.9 km @ 5.8%, with double-digit ramps in the final third), there were riders and groups scattered all over the course. Eventually, only one rider remained at the front, Pogačar’s teammate Pavel Sivakov, but he was caught 4.5 km from the finish by the small group of GC riders going for the stage win and the red jersey. In the end, it came down to three riders: Mas, Roglič, and Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS).
The Spanish race leader made his third and winning attack 1.7 km from the finish, with only Onley on his wheel and Roglič lagging behind. And that’s how it finished, giving Movistar its first Vuelta stage win since 2021. “Now I understand Tadej Pogačar: the red jersey gives you wings,” Mas said afterwards. “This morning I was as excited as a little boy. Winning while wearing the red jersey is very special.”
Going into the first rest day, Mas now leads Roglič by 1:18, with Gall third, at 1:39 and Onley fourth, 2:20 adrift. Coming fourth in the stage, 18 seconds behind the winner, was a disappointing result for Decathlon and its support riders, who had worked hard to bring back the breakaway and set up Gall in perfect position for a winning attack. But though he attacked several times on the climb, he could not shake his rivals and finally lost ground when they accelerated.
Sepp Kuss (Visma–Lease a Bike) lost nearly two minutes on the stage, which saw him drop to seventh place in the GC, 4:09 adrift, with Richard Carapaz (EF Education–EasyPost) and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) moving ahead of him.
Day of mourning, day of triumph
A Vuelta breakaway finally made it to the finish line on Friday’s stage 7, which was won by Norwegian Andreas Leknessund on the day Norway’s King Harald V died at age 89. Fellow Norwegian and Uno-X Mobility teammate Tobias Halland Johannessen finished second, 34 seconds adrift.
“I didn’t expect it to be this emotional, but for sure there’s so much feelings around this,” a visibly moved Leknessund said after the stage. “I’ve been fighting really hard, and it means a lot.”
Leknessund was part of an early three-rider breakaway with Wout van Aert (Visma–Lease a Bike) and Milan Vader (Pinarello Q36.5). Vader was eventually dropped, as van Aert and Leknessund rode on, eventually joined by Johannessen, Eddie Dunbar (Pinarello Q36.5) and Alexey Lutsenko (NSN Cycling). These five riders managed to stay in front for the rest of the 149.8 km course from Vall d’Alba to Aramón Valdelinares, despite being chased by a group of more than 20 riders.
The lead group broke up on the tough final climb to Aramón Valdelinares (9.8 km @ 5.9%), with Leknessund attacking 7.4 km from the finish and riding unchallenged across the line. Van Aert finished third, 47 seconds adrift, but managed to collect enough points at an intermediate sprint and at the finish to take over the green jersey from Pogačar by 2 points. With the Slovenian now out of the race, van Aert looks set to win the Vuelta green jersey, barring accident or illness. He now has 124 points, well ahead of teammate Brennan’s 67.
But Friday was Leknessund’s day. “It was such a special day, going from the start with Wout,” he said. “We were going really hard, so fast. Tobias came up, and it gave me confidence when he was there that we could win. I believe he was the best climber in the group, but we had ambition that one of us had a gap on the final climb. He let my wheel go and basically gave me the win. I’m really proud and grateful.”
He went on to say: “It’s been a special day for the team and for the whole of Norway. Obviously, it’s a small thing in the bigger picture, but still it makes the day more special.”
It was also a great day for WorldTour newbies Uno-X Mobility, who have now won a stage in all three Grand Tours this season, after Frederik Dversnes won at the Giro and Søren Wærenskjold at the Tour.
Results 2026 Vuelta a España Stage 9: Villajoyosa to Alto de Aitana (187 km)
| Pos. | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Enric Mas | Movistar | 5:10:40 |
| 2 | Oscar Onley | Netcompany INEOS | same time |
| 3 | Primož Roglič | Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe | +0:12 |
| 4 | Felix Gall | Decathlon CMA CGM | +0:18 |
| 5 | Cristián Rodríguez | XDS Astana | +0:20 |
| 6 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl-Trek | +0:20 |
| 7 | Jarno Widar | Lotto Intermarché | +0:25 |
| 8 | Harold Tejada | XDS Astana | +0:33 |
| 9 | Richard Carapaz | EF Education–EasyPost | +0:54 |
| 10 | Santiago Buitrago | Bahrain Victorious | +1:41 |
2026 Vuelta a España General Classification After Stage 9
| Pos. | Rider | Team | Time / Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |