Pogacar survives Mas fightback and late scare to claim third Vuelta stage win after gravel showdown

Pogačar attacked with 24 kilometres remaining on the unpaved section of the final climb. Mas was the only rider able to make his way back, catching the Slovenian, but Pogačar still had enough left to comfortably win the sprint between the pair.

The 177.4 kilometre stage from Alcossebre featured 2,984 metres of climbing and four categorised ascents. The final challenge was the Puerto El Bartolo, 9.4 kilometres at 7 per cent, including a 1.9 kilometre gravel section and gradients reaching 14.4 per cent. The climb had never previously featured in a professional race.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG took control on the approach, with Jay Vine and Pablo Torres driving the pace as the advantage of the breakaway rapidly disappeared.

When Pogačar attacked, Oscar Onley, Primož Roglič and Mas initially tried to respond, but all three were distanced on the climb. Mas was the only rider able to make his way back, catching Pogačar before the summit of the Puerto El Bartolo.

Pogačar briefly overshot a corner shortly afterwards but quickly regained contact.

Behind them, the general classification group had splintered. Roglič and Felix Gall crossed the summit 1:05 behind Pogačar, with Onley and Richard Carapaz at 1:15 and the main peloton at 2:20.

The victory is Pogačar's third of this Vuelta after wins in the opening time trial in Monaco and the Andorra stage on day 4 of this Vuelta. 

He began the day with a 3:21 advantage over Roglič and extended his overall lead to 3:34, with Enric Mas now moving into second place.

With the profile offering plenty of opportunities for attackers, the battle to establish the breakaway began almost immediately.

Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Alexey Lutsenko (NSN) were among the first to gain a gap, later joined by Walter Calzoni (Pinarello-Q36.5), but the trio was eventually brought back.

Joshua Tarling (Netcompany-Ineos) abandoned with 123 kilometres remaining, bringing to an end a Vuelta he had started in memory of his brother Finlay.

The next significant move formed on the Coll de la Bandereta, where George Bennett (NSN), Gijs Leemreize (Picnic PostNL), Andreas Kron (Uno X-Mobility) and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) moved clear. A larger chase group subsequently bridged across with 97 kilometres remaining.

The race briefly threatened to explode when Pogačar himself joined an attack alongside teammates Jay Vine and Domen Novak and Oscar Onley.

His presence immediately prompted a response from Movistar, and the group was brought back with 91 kilometres to go. The easing of the pace that followed finally allowed a sizeable breakaway to establish itself.

Among those represented were Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike), Carlos Canal (Movistar), Thomas Gloag (Pinarello-Q36.5), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Patrick Konrad (Lidl-Trek), Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Gianmarco Garofoli (Soudal Quick-Step), Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost), Hannes Wilksch (Tudor), José Manuel Díaz (Burgos Burpellet BH), Lars Craps (Lotto-Intermarché) and Urko Berrade (Kern Pharma).

Markel Beloki (EF Education-EasyPost) abandoned with 92 kilometres remaining. Marco Brenner (Tudor) and Valentin Madouas (Groupama FDJ United) were involved in a crash shortly afterwards but both remounted.

Van Aert won the intermediate sprint in Benicàssim with 57 kilometres remaining, moving into second place in the virtual points classification behind Pogačar.

The break began to fragment on the approach to the Puerto El Bartolo as UAE Team Emirates-XRG increased the pressure behind. Kron and Bilbao opened a small gap with 38 kilometres remaining, while the peloton reached the foot of the final climb 1:50 behind the leaders.

Vine set the tempo on the lower slopes before Torres took over. The gap quickly collapsed, leaving the remaining escapees with just 55 seconds when Pogačar made his move.

The race leader attacked on the gravel with 24 kilometres to go. Onley, Roglič and Mas tried to respond, but Pogačar immediately opened a gap.

At the front, Debruyne accelerated in an attempt to preserve the breakaway's chances, but Pogačar swept past Kron before catching and dropping the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider.

Pogačar initially appeared to be riding away with the stage, but his pace faded towards the summit. Mas gradually closed the gap and caught the race leader before the top, passing him in the final metres to take maximum points at the summit.

The Slovenian increased the pace again on the descent, although he briefly ran wide into the roadside on one corner. He quickly recovered, and the pair remained together for the flat run into Castelló.

Pogačar proved comfortably the stronger, beating Mas to secure another stage victory and further strengthen his grip on the Vuelta.

Behind them, Debruyne, Carapaz, Harold Tejada, Gall and Roglič crossed the line together, 46 seconds down.