France’s Tronchon sprints to Vuelta stage win and Mas retains lead gifted by Pogačar’s crash

ELCHE DE LA SIERRA, Spain (AP) — French cyclist Bastien Tronchon achieved a career-best performance by winning stage 10 of the Spanish Vuelta on Tuesday, while Enric Mas maintained his overall lead in the race, a lead given to him after Tadej Pogačar's crash. Tronchon sprinted ahead in the final 20 meters of the 184.7-kilometer stage between Alcaraz and Elche de la Sierra, with Magnus Cort taking second and Thibaut Nys in third.

Wout van Aert placed fourth. The 24-year-old Tronchon displayed surprise and emotion as he crossed the finish line, sobbing with joy as his Groupama-FDJ United teammates congratulated him. Overall leader Mas held a one-minute and 18-second lead over Primoz Roglic, the 36-year-old Slovenian aiming for his fifth Vuelta title, followed by Felix Gall with a one-minute and 39-second gap.

The Vuelta was disrupted on Saturday when Pogačar, the race leader and favorite to win, crashed and suffered a fractured left collarbone. The stage featured three third-category climbs, and a seven-man breakaway, with only one rider within an hour of Mas's time, built a lead of over two and a half minutes. The peloton eventually caught up with the breakaway in the final five kilometers and fought for position, leaving behind other attempts to claim the stage win.

Wednesday's stage 11 is a flat course over 153.8 kilometers from Cartagena to Lorca, favoring sprinters, and the Vuelta concludes in Granada on September 13.