Skip to main content

Vuelta a Espana stage 9 Live - Steep uphill finish

Maps and profiles of the 2022 Vuelta a Espana stages

(Image credit: La Vuelta)

Vuelta a España – Results and news

Refresh

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of stage 9 of the Vuelta a España.

The second of back-to-back summit finishes, today’s stage ends at Les Praeres – a short but exceptionally steep climb which averages 12.5% with ramps as steep as 24%. Unlike yesterday, the climbing begins much later in the stage, with a category 2 mountain after almost 50 kilometers. Afterwards, there is little respite with a further four climbs packed into the last two thirds of the stage.

Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) suffered a blow overnight with the abandon of his right-hand man Sepp Kuss due to a fever. His arch-rival Remco Evenepoel (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) also lost a key lieutenant this morning in Pieter Serry who left the race following a positive COVID-19 test. Bahrain Victorious announced that Wout Poels had also tested positive for the virus, bringing the peloton to 166 riders. 

Roglič and Evenepoel, along with Mas, had proved to be the strongest of the overall favourites yesterday, finishing together 1:20 behind the stage winner Jay Vine. 

The riders are all lined up at the start, ready to begin the stage.

Today, the race begins in Villaviciosa which the riders are navigating via the neutral zone. 

The peloton completes the neutralised section and the attacks immediately begin.

-171km

As QuickStep fanned across the road, more attacks arrived. The group of four out front are Davide Villella (Cofidis), Luis Ángel Maté (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Jetse Bol (Burgos-BH) and Thomas de Gendt (Lotto-Soudal).

-168km

-167km

That injection of pace has strung out the peloton from which attacks still continue. Vine is on the front and closely marked by Julian Alaphilippe who refuses to allow the double stage winner to get away.

Mads Pedersen now moves to the front in his distinctive green jersey to scout out any potential breakaway opportunities.

-163km

-160km

Alaphilippe is chasing down every move and, although the peloton is stretched out into a long line, still no riders have been able to join the breakaway out front.

-156km

EF Education-EasyPost have put Julius van den Berg on the front who is trying to reel in the breakaway but the gap has grown back out to 24 seconds.

-151km

-150km

-148km

-148km

-146km

Samuele Battistella (Astana Qazaqstan), Alessandro De Marchi (Israel Premier Tech), Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Soudal) and Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) are the riders who have joined the front of the race.

-143km

-141km

-139km

-137km

-135km

Meurisse and Bou have been caught by the peloton.

-132km

-130km

-129km

Ten riders made it up the road and their gap is growing up to 35 seconds.

-125km

-123km

The breakaway hits the first climb of the day - the 7.6km Alto del Torno at 6% - as a counterattack led by Marc Soler forms between the peloton and the breakaway.

-122km

-121km

QuickStep-AlphaVinyl have moved up to the front of the peloton in an attempt to restore some form of order.

Due to the fast start, the peloton is already very reduced. Even João Almeida has been distanced, according to the official Vuelta website.

-114km

-110km

Today, the race finishes at Les Praeres for the first time since Simon Yates won there in 2018, retaking the red jersey which he held all the way to the finish in Madrid. 

-102km

-98km

Henri Vandenabeele of Team DSM has abandoned the race. 

LES PRAERESNAVA SPAIN AUGUST 28 LR Dries Devenyns of Belgium Rmi Cavagna of France and Team QuickStep Alpha Vinyl and Rohan Dennis of Australia and Team Jumbo Visma compete during the 77th Tour of Spain 2022 Stage 9 a 1714km stage from Villaviciosa to Les Praeres Nava 743m LaVuelta22 WorldTour on August 28 2022 in Les Praeres Nava Spain Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images

QuickStep-AlphaVinyl are controlling the race for Remco Evenepoel. (Image credit: Getty Images)

-90km

-85km

-83km

-79km

-77km

-72km

-70km

-64km

-60km

-58km

-57km

-54km

-52km

-50km

-47km

-43km

-36km

-33km

-31km

-30km

-27km

-25km

-21km

-21km

-18km

-15km

-11.6km

-10.8km

-9.3km

-7.7km

-7km

-5.5km

-5.3km

-3.7km

-3.7km

-3.5km

-3km

-2.7km

-2.5km

-2.4km

-2.2km

-2km

-1.7km

-1.3km

-1km

-700m

-500m

-300m

Louis Meintjes raises his arms to the sky and wins stage 9!

Battistella is the next to cross the line, a minute behind Meintjes to take his second second place on this year's race.

Evenepoel has crossed the line, just 1:32 behind the stage winner. He has stamped his authority on the race today.

In the end, Evenepoel gained 34 seconds on Ayuso, 44 seconds on Mas, 46 seconds on Rodriguez and 52 seconds on Roglič. He now has a 1:12 lead in the GC.

Evenepoel goes into the rest day with a 1:12 lead over second-placed Mas. Roglič is third at 1:53 with Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos-Grenadiers) fourth at 2:33. Ayuso rounds out the top five 2:36 back. 

“It’s something really special, I think it still needs some time to sink in. I’ve actually never been on the podium of a WorldTour race except for team classifications so that was one of my main goals before stopping my career," Louis Meintjes said at the finish.

Latest on Cyclingnews