Vuelta a España: Ackermann wins stage 9 as Sam Bennett is relegated

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Sam Bennett crossed the line first at the end of stage 9 of the Vuelta a Espana, thinking he had taken his 50th career victory and Deceuninck-QuickStep's 100th stage victory in Grand Tours, only for race officials to relegate him and declare Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) the stage winner.

The race commissaires ruled that Bennett had been overly aggressive in the way he shoulder charged Emils Liepins (Trek-Segafredo) out of the way inside the final kilometre and awarded the victory to Ackermann.

Bennett bumped Liepins hard with around five hundred metres to go and then again a second time before focusing on his sprint. He hit the front late due to a headwind but had the speed to cross the line first in Aguilar de Campoo.

Both Bennett and Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) started their sprints at the same moment, with Jasper Philippsen (UAE Team Emirates) trying to find a way between them. However, Bennett edged ahead of his rivals, pointing at his team sponsor on the chest of his jersey in celebration. 

Ackermann finished second with 22-year-old Belgian Gerben Thijssen (Lotto Soudal) third after coming off Bennet's wheel. But after carefully studying the video replay of the final kilometres, the jury relegated Bennett and gave the win to Ackermann.

Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) finished safely in the peloton to keep his 13-second lead on Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma). Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) is third at 28 seconds.

"It was a long final, slightly uphill and with a headwind. We had to come from behind with speed and there was a big fight. Some guys nearly put us in the barriers trying to take the wheel which was a bit sketchy but we stayed upright," Bennett said before being relegated, perhaps aware he had been overly aggressive.

Ackermann accepted victory despite not crossing the line first, suggesting riders have to reel in their aggressiveness after the spate of recent sprint crashes.

"I didn't expect that because Sam was just in front. But when I saw the video behind, it wasn't a fair action for him," the Bora-Hansgrohe sprinter said of the commissaires' decision.

"I think, after all the crashes in the last weeks, we have to take care about the other guys. If there is no hole, we have to stop. I feel sorry for Sam, but they took me out in Scheldeprijs and now we have to ride more fair.

"I'm really happy about this victory and also for my team, they did an awesome job today, they did it all from the front and I'm happy to give something back to them.

"We didn't care about Quickstep, we decided to do our own thing. I'm happy we did it today. Now I'm glad to have another victory. The shape is amazing but we had so much bad luck in the last weeks."

How it unfolded

After several mountain finishes and the overall contenders taking swings at each, stage 9 from Castrillo del Val to Aguilar de Campoo in the Burgos region was always going to be a day for the sprinters.

Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) was able to celebrate his 31st birthday safely ensconced in the peloton, while race leader Richard Carapaz and his Ineos Grenadiers were happy to let the sprint teams control the peloton. They both know the GC battle will resume at the weekend with the stage 11 finish atop Alto de la Farrapona and then stage 12 to the summit of the terrible Alto de l'Angliru.

Of course, there is always someone willing to attack on a Grand Tour stage, and Juan Felipe Osorio (Burgos-BH) and Aritz Bagues (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) jumped away soon after the flag dropped in Castrillo del Val, in pursuit of glory and television exposure for their teams.

Their lead quickly touched two minutes and then five minutes after 20km. However, with the stage crossing the barren harvested wheat fields of Burgos, they were easy to keep under control.

Young American Ian Garrison did long turns on the front for Deceuninck-QuickStep, helping to bring the gap down to a controllable 2:30. UAE Team Emirates also helped with the work, defending the sprint interests of Jasper Philipsen.

The route turned north after a 75km ride west but nothing much happened as the peloton opted for a steady ride to the finish. There was a hint of crosswinds every so often and teams gathered into formation but the peloton never really accelerated to take up the challenge.

A sudden crash with 110km to go involving Hector Saez (Caja Rural) and Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) was a sudden reminder of the constant risks of racing. Ackermann was soon back up and away but Saez was in pain, with his battered helmet clearly saving from more pain. He eventually got up and got going again after a medical check-up.

Another crash and another pinch point through a small town caused Harry Tanfield and AG2R La Mondiale teammate Dorion Godon to go down in the low-speed spill.

Bagues won the intermediate sprint with 65km to go but it did not end the siesta in the peloton.

The speed only rose after a first passage through the finish in Aguilar de Campoo. The sprinters and their lead-out men were happy to see that a late roundabout had been neutralized with the race route taking a direct line through it.

Osorio and Bagues lead the peloton by 47 seconds with a lap and 35km to go. Soon after Jumbo-Visma, Ineos, EF Pro Cycling, Movistar and Israel Start-Up Nation moved up to the front to protect Roglic, Carapaz, Hugh Carthy, Enric Mas and Dan Martin respectively as the sprint teams saved their legs for the final kilometres.

Upfront Osorio put in one final sprint to stay out in front a little longer than Bagues and take the combativity award but with 21km to go, it was gruppo compatto.

Roglic took a bike change with 13km to go after a front-wheel puncture but he had no problems returning to the front of the peloton. The country roads dipped and rolled as the late afternoon shadows lengthened across the road.

The speed was high but everyone waited for the high-speed, fresh-legged sprint finish. Deceuninck-QuickStep moved up late on the inside of a left turn and seemed set to produce their trademark leadout for Bennett. Only Liepins got in the way, prompting Bennett to make what would prove to be a costly reaction and reopen the debate about safety and the written, and unwritten rules, of sprinting.