Cycling

Adam Yates solos to Vuelta a España win on gruelling stage nine to Granada

UAE Team Emirates rider claims first Vuelta stage with Ben O’Connor third to hold on to overall lead

Team UAE's Adam Yates celebrates crossing the finish in first place. Photograph: Jorge Guerrero/Getty
Sun Aug 25 2024 - 19:17

Britain’s Adam Yates went all alone to win stage nine of the Vuelta a España on Sunday while the Australian Ben O’Connor finished third and held on to his overall lead.

Yates was part of an early breakaway group but, with 58km still to race, the UAE Team Emirates rider went off alone and held off the challenge of Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), who finished 1min 39sec behind.

O’Connor outsprinted Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) and Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull–Bora – Hansgrohe) on the line to take third on the stage and claimed four bonus seconds to increase his lead over three-times former champion, Primoz Roglic of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, to 3min 53sec.

Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar finished 27th and is 23rd in the overall rankings, Darren Rafferty 76th and is 95th in the overall rankings.

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Carapaz moved up to third overall and Yates was rewarded for his efforts when he went from 27th to seventh in the general classification with his first Vuelta stage win.

The 178.5km ride from Motril to Granada was the toughest of this year’s race so far, with three category-one climbs and the riders tackling the Alto de Hazallanas twice before descending into Granada for the finish.

Wout van Aert was the first to launch an attack from the start and eventually a breakaway group of 26 riders formed, but Yates and his UAE team-mates Marc Soler and Jay Vine pushed the pace, dropping riders on the first climb.

Carapaz attacked from the peloton and went on a solo chase, while the lead group splintered further with just three riders remaining as they went up Alto de Hazallanas for the first time before Yates went alone.

Yates managed to stretch his lead while, behind in the peloton, Roglic’s team upped the pace to split the main bunch, but O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale), who had seen almost a minute shaved off his lead the previous day, held firm.

Spain’s Enric Mas (Movistar) attempted to get away, looking to protect his third place overall, but he was caught with one kilometre to the finish and O’Connor showed he had plenty left in the tank as he took third place, with Roglic in eighth.

After a rest day on Monday, stage 10 on Tuesday will be a 160km ride from Ponteareas to Baiona, another mountain stage. – Guardian