Passed by the attack ten kilometers from the arrival at the Valdezcaray ski resort, Jonas Vingegaard won solo during the 9th stage of the Vuelta. Torstein Træen still keeps the red jersey of the general classification.
Jonas Vingegaard was determined to fist on the table. After raising your arms as a winner at Limone Piemonte, the leader of the Visma-Lease A Bike team took advantage of the slopes leading to the Valdezcaray ski resort to distance all its rivals and win the 9th stage of this 2025 edition of the Vuelta, without resuming the red jersey. With 195.5 kilometers on the program with an essentially flat course before the final climb, the expected scenario took place. Very quickly, several skirmishes rocked the peloton but without managing to dig the gap on a peloton launched at high speed. It took a little more than 50 kilometers to see Archie Ryan and Michal Kwiatkowski isolated themselves at the top of the race, very quickly joined by Michel Hessmann and Liam Slock at first then by Kevin Vermaerke in a second. A quintet that obtained an exit voucher, gradually digging a gap which did not exceed three minutes. Mads Pedersen then created the surprise starting in a counter with the objective of returning to the breakaway and taking points in the intermediate sprint.
Ciccone exploded too quickly
A plan that quickly turned into a vain “gap hunting”, completed after six small kilometers. After this offensive of the green jersey wearer, his teammates of the Lidl-Trek team took control of the peloton while the rain was invited on the race. The approach of the intermediate sprint located in Santo Domingo in Calzada has prompted the peloton to raise the pace, reducing the gap with the breakaway. But, with points distributed to the first five, there was no longer anything to take after the passage of the breakaway. The attention then turned to the approach of the climb to the Valdezcaray ski resort (13.2km at 5% average). From the first slopes, the breakaway was absorbed by a peloton which quickly lost Juan Ayuso. The Lidl-Trek team then unveiled its cards by raising the look for its leader Giulio Ciccone. Except that it was the Visma-Lease A Bike that launched hostilities ten kilometers from the finish. Matteo Jorgenson lit the wick with its leader Jonas Vingegaard in the wheel. Only Giulio Ciccone was able to take the Danish wheel … but it only lasted a few hundred meters. The double winner of the Tour de France then found itself alone in front of the slope.
Vingegaard did not “kill” the Vuelta
He then had the idea of digging the gap on his main rivals for the final victory over this Vuelta. Behind the native of Hillerslev, João Almeida took his rhythm with Felix Gall and Tom Pidcock by his side but the agreement was not ideal. Wearer of the red jersey, Torstein Træen was quickly distant and saw his tunic starting to unravel … but not totally. Over the kilometers, Jonas Vingegaard could only take a few seconds on his opponents. The Danish won solo in Valdezcaray but only resumes 24 seconds to Tom Pidcock and João Almeida, who finished wheel after having Felix Gall yielded. Arrived in 17th position in a group led by Matteo Jorgenson, Torstein Træen retains first place in the general classification for 37 small seconds with the impression that the Visma-Lease team in Bike was not decided to take it back. Nevertheless, it is Jonas Vingegaard who does the good deal, pushing all his opponents over a minute after this first week of racing. The day of rest scheduled for Monday arrives at the right time before a second week which promises to be full -bodied, including the ascent of Angliru this Friday.
