Two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard claimed victory in stage nine of the Vuelta a España with a solo attack on the final climb to Valdezcaray on Sunday. He cut nearly two minutes from his deficit to overall leader Torstein Træen, who now leads by just 37 seconds.
Riding for Visma-Lease a Bike, Vingegaard dominated the 13.2km category one ascent at the end of the 195.5km route from Alfaro to the Valdezcaray ski resort. Despite efforts from Tom Pidcock and João Almeida to chase him down, they finished 24 seconds behind.
Vingegaard, who overcame a mechanical issue earlier in the stage and rejoined the peloton with 75km remaining, said he knew it was his day when his team took control on the final climb. “I felt great today, especially on that last climb. I asked the team to push the pace, and they did an amazing job. It was fantastic teamwork, and I’m really happy I could finish it off,” the 28-year-old Dane said.
Træen, who had dropped back from the peloton during the climb, launched a late surge in the final 3km to finish 1 minute 46 seconds behind Vingegaard, holding onto the leader’s red jersey.
Early in the stage, several breakaway attempts failed until Michel Hessmann, Liam Slock, Michal Kwiatkowski, Archie Ryan, and Kevin Vermaerke formed a leading group, building a two-minute advantage around the 70km mark. Heavy rain hit the riders about 120km into the stage, but the peloton kept the breakaway in check before closing the gap rapidly in the final 30km.
On the climb, Lidl-Trek riders Carlos Verona and Andrea Bagioli tried to set up their teammate Giulio Ciccone, but Vingegaard stayed with them before attacking with 11km to go. Ciccone couldn’t maintain the chase, while Pidcock (Q36.5) and Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) pushed on to join him on the podium.
Almeida now sits third overall, 1 minute 15 seconds behind Træen, with Pidcock in fourth, 20 seconds further back. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) kept the green jersey as points classification leader. The race resumes after a rest day with a 175.3km stage from Arguedas to El Ferial Larra Belagua on Wednesday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about Jonas Vingegaards stage nine victory at the Vuelta a España
General Beginner Questions
Q Who is Jonas Vingegaard
A He is a Danish professional cyclist and a twotime winner of the Tour de France widely considered one of the best climbers in the world
Q What is the Vuelta a España
A Its one of cyclings three Grand Tours along with the Tour de France and Giro dItalia Its a threeweek race held primarily in Spain
Q What happened on stage nine of the 2024 Vuelta
A Jonas Vingegaard attacked on the final climb Valdezcaray and rode away from his rivals to win the stage solo
Q What is a surge in cycling
A Its a sudden powerful acceleration often on a climb used to break away from other riders
Q What is Valdezcaray
A Its a mountain climb that was the decisive summitfinish stage of the Vueltas ninth day
Race Performance Questions
Q Why was this victory so significant
A It was his first major win since a serious crash earlier in the year proving he is back to his top form and a major contender for the overall Vuelta title
Q How did he win the stage
A He waited for the steepest part of the climb then launched a devastating attack that his competitors couldnt match timetrialing to the finish alone
Q Did this win put him in the overall lead
A It likely moved him very high up in the General Classification potentially into the race leaders red jersey or very close to it
Q Who were his main competitors on that climb
A Other top GC riders like Primoz Rogli Remco Evenepoel and Juan Ayuso were likely the riders he dropped with his surge
Technical Strategic Questions
Q What does a powerful climb mean
A It means he sustained an extremely high power output relative to his body weight allowing him to ascend the mountain faster than anyone else
