Sunday’s ninth stage of the 2022 Vuelta a España ended with a short beast of a climb, where Louis Meintjes won his first career Grand Tour stage and race leader Remco Evenepoel stamped his authority on the 77th edition. Remco put his rivals to the sword and doubled his advantage over second place Enric Mas.
You can watch the 77th Vuelta a España at FloBikes.
The Course
Five categorized climbs were spread more or less evenly along a 171.4-km route in Asturias. There was a sting in the tail, a nasty little 3.8-km Cat. 1 averaging 13 percent.
Five classified climbs and an explosive finish for stage 9 of #LaVuelta22, Villaviciosa – Les Praeres (171.4 kilometers). pic.twitter.com/A6vNixAuYY
— Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team (@qst_alphavinyl) August 28, 2022
There was a flurry of activity both before and after the breakaway of the day formed. By the first categorized climb, a nontet of riders containing Meintjes had formed, with Robert Stannard the first to tip over.
The nine riders reached the foot of the day’s first Cat. 1, Mirador del Fito, with a 5:00 lead. Again Stannard claimed the maximum KOM points, but he was still nowhere near his teammate and compatriot, double stage winner Jay Vine, who was in the blue polka dots.
The Alto de la Llama ascent didn’t bring the fugitive group any nearer to the Quick Step-led peloton, but moved Stannard closer to Vine. The penultimate climb La Campa whittled away the gap.
The Tale of a Spanish Wall
The escapees started to hit each other on the way to the foot of the Spanish wall Les Praeres. Back in the red jersey group, teams worked to put their GC men into the best position before the road narrowed.
Stannard and Vine’s teammate Jimmy Janssens was solo at the front of the race, Samuele Battistella trying to bring him back and Meintjes on his way.
Immediately Juan Ayuso, Evenepoel, Primož Roglič and Enric Mas clambered away from the others. Soon only Mas was able to follow the red jersey and then no one could hang.
Roglič couldn’t hold Ayuso’s wheel. Carlos Rodriguez joined Ayuso.
Meintjes caught and dispatched the others, earning a famous victory. Evenepoel crossed the line 1:34 later. He leads Mas by 1:12 and Roglič by 1:53
Monday brings the second, well-deserved rest day for the peloton. When hostilities resume on Tuesday, there will be the 30.9-km individual time trial.
2022 Vuelta a España Stage 9
1) Louis Meintjes (South Africa/Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert)…
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