Mas inherited red less than 24 hours earlier when Tadej Pogačar abandoned; today he backed it up on the 22 km Alto de Aitana with a stage win of his own. In the final 200 metres he held the inside line against Onley's attack and rode straight through to the finish. The result: Mas now leads Primož Roglič by 1:18 and Felix Gall by 1:39, gaps built on his terms, not on someone else's misfortune.