Vuelta a España stage 9 - Live coverage

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Mountain stage in southern Sierra expected to test GC favourites

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Hola and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage of stage 9 of the Vuelta a Espana.

As the minutes countdown to the roll out from Puerto Lumbreras, the riders are preparing for a long, hard day in the mountains.

Today is perhaps the most mountainous stage of the Vuelta a España so far. 

Deceuninck-QuickStep are naturally happy after Fabio Jakobsen took his second victory, sprinting from the front to take victory on stage 8 in La Manga del Mar Menor.

The riders are about to roll out but face a 5.7km neutralised sector before the stage officially starts.

The riders have rolled out of Puerto Lumbreras. 

The 175 riders who finished yesterday's stage are racing today and now on their way to km 0.

The only rider not to finish yesterday was Italy's Davide Cimolai (Israel Start-Up Nation) who was suffering with a knee injury. 

The flag has dropped. The stage is underway!

Soon after the start, the race departs Murcia for Andalucia, running south-west through Huércal-Overa and on towards Líjar, where the first classified climb begins, the second-category Alto de Cuatro Vientos, which is little more than a couple of dozen kilometres from the top of the Velefique as the crow flies, but is still 110km away by the roundabout route the riders will be taking.

The descent from the Venta Luisa is considerably shorter, but a good deal steeper and leads directly into the third-category climb of the Alto de Castro de Filabres. This is another long one, but rolls throughout its 20km, gaining only 500 metres in height over that time. This summit is a bonus point, the first three riders gaining eight, five and two seconds.

Once again, the descent is much steeper, dropping quickly to Velefique and the start of the final ascent. It first featured on the Vuelta route in 2004 and last appeared in 2017, when Romain Bardet led over the summit as the race headed for the nearby Calar Alto observatory. Extending to 13.2km, the Velefique averages 6.4 per cent, but its opening 4km are closer to 10 per cent, the gradient easing back thereafter to around six as the road climbs through a series of sweeping hairpins to the summit.

Robert Stannard (Team BikeExchange) is the first to attack but the peloton quickly closes him down.

We could see two hours of attacks and fast racing as riders fight to get into the break of the day because the the second-category Alto de Cuatro Viento comes after 75km. 

An early section of the stage goes on the main highway, making for fast and flat racing. 

Antonio Jesus Soto (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Florian Vermeersch (Lotto Soudal) and Nick Schultz (Team BikeExchange) have as small gap but the high speed makes it difficult to get away.

The attack is chased down and now riders from Burgos-BH, Groupama-FDJ and Team DSM are on the move. 

A short climb out of Huercal-Overa could help a break go clear. 

Soto goes clear alone but the peloton is about catch him.

160km to go

This was the earlier attack

Sepp Kuss suffers a mechanical problem as the speed remains high.

The riders have covered 30km in just 33 minutes!  

Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto Soudal) made a solo attack but was quickly swept up.

150km to go

UAE Team Emirates drag the peloton up to the break.  

Diego Rubio (Burgos-BH) also suffered a mechanical earlier and chased with Kuss for 12km before they managed to return to the peloton. That indicates the speed and aggression of the race.  

The attacks are still coming, with 25km to to the start of the Alto de Cuatro Vientos climb.

The road to Alto de Cuatro Vientos includes some gradual climbing as the terrain changes. It could be a turn point in the race. 

Stage 9 features the two highest mountains of the entire Vuelta. 

Less than half an hour’s drive away from the Vuelta a España’s summit finish of Velefique, fans of Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti western movies can visit the original film sets, complete with stagecoaches, wigwams and bullet-riddled saloons. 

Ouch! 

In other news, Filippo Ganna has spoken about his end of season goals and how he is still hungry despite winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

Ganna is action in the Tour of Norway which ends today. He helped Ethan Hayter win the opening two stages. 

We will have a final Tour of Norway report on Cyclingnews later today.

As the road rises Danni Navarro (Burgos-BH) goes solo. 

As the Alto de Cuatro Vientos finally begins in earnest, we have a new attack. 

Wout Poels (Bahrain) is one of the riders on the attack.  

Poel's attack and other riders going after him has exploded the peloton. 

Poels is near the top of the Alto de Cuatro Vientos. 

106km to go

The riders are coming to the bottom of the descent off the climb now.

Johan Jacobs (Movistar) has abandoned the race after crashing.

Majka, Bouchard and Schultz are caught and more riders head out on the attack.

Groupama-FDJ duo Oliver Le Gac and Rudy Molard are on the attack along with Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious).

Robert Stannard (Team BikeExchange), Romain Bardet (Team DSM), Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo) and Rafal Majka (UAE Team Emirates) have joined them up front.

Lilian Calmejane (AG2R Citroën), Angel Madrazo (Burgos-BH), Julen Amezqueta (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Martijn Tusveld (Team DSM) have also moved out front to make it 11 in the lead.

95km to go

Jumbo-Visma lead the peloton.

1:40 between leaders and peloton as they start the uphill drag to the base of the next climb.

87km to go

Molard is the best-placed rider in the move. He's 20th overall at 5:09.

After the intermediate sprint it Tijola, the road heads upwards even more.

Jumbo-Visma seem happy to set a steady pace and so let the break extend its lead.

The presence of Molard does not help the break but Jumbo-Visma may be happy to let the French rider take the lead by a few seconds.

Lilian Calmejane (AG2R Citroën) wins the intermediate sprint as the break pushes their gap up to 3:00. 

Sadly Movistar rider has abandoned after a crash. 

The first-category Alto Collado Venta Luisa climb averages a benign 4.4 per cent but stretches for a whopping 29km, topping out at just under 2,000 metres.

The gradient easy early on but much steeper in the middle.

The riders take a vital feed before the climb. 

The break has extended their lead to 3:40 now. Several riders in the move are superb climbers and so know they have a real chance of victory today.

Interestingly, Ineos Grenadiers are not happy with the attack and are now leading the chase. They have cut the gap to 1:50. 

As the gaps falls even more, Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) is alone at the front with 70km to go.

It's interesting to see Bahrain so aggressive today. Are they riding to help team leader Mikel Landa or riding as alternatives, knowing he might struggle on the final climb. 

Romain Bardet (Team DSM) has decided Caruso is a rider to mark and is in pursuit of the Italian.  

Now Rafa Majka sets off in pursuit of Bardet as the group explodes. 

The attacks are coming on the steepest parts of the 29km Alto Collado Venta Luisa climb.  

The 11-rider attack is split into four groups, with the Roglic peloton at 1:40. 

With 10km of the climb to go, Caruso is 30' seconds ahead of Bardet and Majka. 

Meanwhile, further north in Europe, Ethan Hayter (Ineos) has won the Tour of Norway, while his Madison partner at the recent Olympics Matt Walls (Bora-Hansgrohe) takes victory on final stage to take his first pro win.  

Click below for our stage report. 

60km to go

Pavel Sivakov and Dylan van Baarle are leading the GC peloton on the climb, making most of them hurt. 

Roglic has three teammates riding around him, with another further down the line.

Ineos have five riders: Sivakov, van Baarle, Bernal, Carapaz and Adam Yates.

The pace is slowly spitting riders out of the GC peloton. Guillaume Martin is the latest to suffer. 

As the gradient eases near the summit of the Alto Collado Venta Luisa, both Ineos and Jumbo feed, with domestiques taking the musettes and passing bottles to their leader.s

Caruso is on fire. 

Kenny Elissonde has slipped back to the GC group from the break. He will now help Ciccone, who is 11th at 1:28.

Interesting Romain Bardet (Team DSM) was second over the top of the Alto Collado Venta Luisa. That gives him the lead in the mountains competition.

Caruso is diving down the descent of the Alto Collado Venta Luisa, chasing a motorbike. 

The GC group is closing down the chasers. The final 50km will be a pursuit match. 

Here's Caruso out front.

The descent from the Venta Luisa is considerably shorter than the climb but a good deal steeper and leads directly into the third-category climb of the Alto de Castro de Filabres. 

45km to go

As the Alto de Castro de Filabres begins, Caruso digs deep to stay away.

As the climb begins to hurt, Ineos appear to have eased the pace. Jumbo take over and Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R) takes off alone in pursuit of the chasers and Caruso.

40km to go

Caruso leads the trio of chasers by 2:00 with the GC group at 3:00. 

The heat of eastern Spain in the height of summer is hard enough to face on the coast, as riders like Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) already commented about the stage to Manga del Mar Menor on Saturday. But further inland, with temperatures set to soar to 33C degrees, on the deeper mountain valleys the stage could end up feeling like a ride through an airless furnace.

The three riders chasing: Romain Bardet (Team DSM), Julen Amezqueta (Caja Rural-Seguros), Rafal Majka (UAE Team Emirates), are 2:20 behind Caruso.

Bouchard has dug deep and joined the trio chasing Caruso. 

They are at 2:25, with the GC peloton at 4:20. 

These are the exposed roads of the Southern Spanish sierras.

Caruso is over the Alto de Castro de Filabres and diving down the descent. 

The four chasers are also on the descent, taking  more careful line. 

Jumbo-Visma lead the GC group over the top at 4:20. 

Bardet was second over the climb and so extends his KOM lead by 2 points. 

Caruso won the Giro d'Italia to Valle Spluga-Alpe Motta with a solo move and is set to win again today in a similar way.   

His stage win secured him second overall in the Corsa Rosa and today he could climb up the GC today. 

This is the profile of the Alto de Velefique.

This is the typical landscape of the stage. 

Roglic was smiling at the start and is no doubt smiling now as the Alto de Velefique nears.

Bernal had more of a frown but perhaps he will come alive on the Alto de Velefique.

The Alto de Velefique first featured on the Vuelta route in 2004 and last appeared in 2017, when Romain Bardet led over the summit as the race headed for the nearby Calar Alto observatory. 

Race director Fernando Escartín has said this stage resembles the one in 2009 that finished on this same summit. 

13km to go

Caruso pours cold water over his head and takes a long drink. 

In the GC group, lots of riders have their jerseys open. 

Oopps... Romain Bardet lost his chain but avoids crashing. 

Bardet is with Majka and Bouchard, some 3:30 down on Caruso. 

10km to go

Sivakov and van Baarle are leading the pace in the GC group. 

Wow! 

Pop. There's goes Landa. 

Up front Majka is chasing alone after the trio split around him. However he is 3:10 down on Caruso.

Bahrain also have Jack Haig as an alternative GC leader.

Landa faces a painful final 10km ride to the finish. 

Here we go!

Lopez goes with Yates. so does Kuss but he seems to have been called back to help Roglic. 

Yates eases but then goes again. 

Roglic attacks! 

Roglic sits in the saddle and surges up to Yates. 

He closes down Yates and Lopez  in a few seconds.

Roglic laid down the law with that surge. But Yates goes again.  

The Yates attack splits the quality GC group again.

Bernal is there, Roglic too, with Lopez and Mas for Movistar. 

6km to go

This is the move.

The chasers crawl up to the Roglic group and Carapaz immediately attacks to force others to lead the group in chase.

5km to go

These attacks have swept up Majka and Bouchard. 

Roglic is trying to control Yates.

Caruso leads by 3:00. 

Mas and Roglic join and pass Yates.

Yates is struggling and losing contact. Bernal is further back and so is Carapaz. 

Roglic is sitting on Mas but seems strong and could attack sooner or later.

3km to go

The Alto de Velefique winds up the side of the mountain.

Mas calls Roglic to do a turn on the front. They don't want the likes of Bernal and others to come back. 

Bernal is 15 seconds behind and has Yates to help lead the chase.

Lopez and Haig are with Bernal and Yates.

But Bernal can't hold the pace. 

Mas and Roglic are now working together to gain as much time as possible on their rivals. 

1km to go

Bernal is suffering but trying to limit his losses. 

Bernal's head drops as his gap opens further.

Caruso is driving to the finish. 

Caruso zips up his jersey and prepares to celebrate.

Caruso waves his arms in the air in joy. 

He holds his head as he crosses the line, struggling to believe he has won.

Caruso spent 70km out front solo. 

Roglic  accelerates in the final 100m to take second and a few seconds on Enric Mas. 

Lopez finishes with Hig and Yates. They're at 30 seconds down on Roglic. 

Mader and Ciccone catch and pass Bernal.  

Here come other riders but they're at least a minute down on Mas and Roglic.

What a stage.

Here comes Landa. He finishes 5:00 down on Caruso and so lost 4:00 to Roglic and Mas. 

Caruso pours cold water over his head.

After today's stage, Roglic leads by 28 seconds. Mas is second, with Lopes third at 1:21. 

Caruso attacked alone with 71km to go.  

"The last climb was so long. I always try to keep my focus on my own tempo. Only in the last few km I realised I can win today." 

Caruso admitted that he knew Landa was suffering. 

This is the top ten for the stage.

This is the new top ten on GC: 

It was a hard day out for everyone. 

Here's the first shot of Caruso winning the stage.

Enric Mas was happy to ride well and move up to second overall. 

Mas knew he had to do most of the work but did convince Roglic to do turns before the Slovenian jumped away at the finish to gain a second and take the six-second time bonus. Mas picked up the four-second bonus. 

Roglic was happy to reach the rest day with an extended lead. 

Roglic was happy to have gained seconds but is aware of the risks ahead. 

This was the mood at the start of the stage but the gloves came off during the day, with Ineos trying to hurt Roglic and Jumbo. 

To read our full stage report, study the full results and check the growing photo gallery, click the link below. 

In other news, Mathieu van der Poel's back problems will keep him out of next week's UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, his Alpecin-Fenix team has announced.

At the Vuelta the time limit was 18% of the winner's time for the 188km stage. That means a final time of 5:57:49 (+54:35).

Damiano Caruso went deep to win the stage.

To read our full stage report and see the full results and our photo gallery, click below. 

Thanks for joining us for this long day of live coverage. There's no racing at the Vuelta on Monday as the riders enjoy the first rest day in Almeria. 

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