Stage 9 covers 160 km from Alfaro to the Valdezcaray ski station. There are no categorized climbs in the opening half. The first 30 km will be key in forming the day’s breakaway, which could stay clear on the undulating terrain.
A bonus sprint is scheduled in Santo Domingo de la Calzada with 30 km remaining.
From there, the course turns south toward the final ascent. The climb to Valdezcaray is 13.3 km and averages around 5 per cent. However, the first 4 km is 7.5 per cent. The gradient eases after that, offering an opportunity for late attacks. If it were steeper, however, it would certainly suit race favourite Jonas VIngegaard more.
Breaks or a GC day?
While breakaways are definitely possible, strong climbers from the GC group could still contest the stage win. It really depends on what Vingegaard and his Visma – Lease a Bike squad have planned. Let Torstein Træen (Bahrain-Victorious) keep the maillot rojo a little longer? Or is it time to take it back and try and hold it until Madrid?
Jasper Philipsen pulled off a late sprint victory on Stage 8 of the 2025 Vuelta a España. The Belgian powered past Elia Viviani to claim his second stage dub of the race. The Belgian admitted the effort was tough after several mountain days. “We suffered in the mountains to get here,” he said. Despite being boxed in early, Philipsen navigated the final kilometre alone and proved fastest, marking his 15th Grand Tour stage triumph.
To watch Sunday’s race, check into FloBikes.com at 8:50 a.m. EDT. And be sure to check back here on Canadian Cycling Magazine for a full report. If you are a MTB fan, don’t forget that Mathieu van der Poel is returning to action as well today at the UCI World Cup at Les Gets. You can watch that before the Vuelta–coverage begins at 6:45 a.m. EDT. Lots of bike racing!
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