Lopez joined a fifteen-rider break that formed 27 km into the stage, and lasted through repeated selections until he launched his own attack. Lopez was caught, went again a couple kilometers later, got caught … and found it in his legs or his heart to attack one more time, finally dropping the competition in the final 4000 meters to take the lead and the win.
“I picked the right time to go alone and I suffered a lot to maintain my advantage until the finish line, but it was worth it,” Lopez told Cyclingnews.com. “In the last kilometer I realized I couldn’t lose.
“The emotion this win generates is indescribable; I never imagined it could be so intense.”
The large break contained only one GC contender, Quick Step’s Carlos Barredo, 3:30 behind the red jersey. With him in the break the leaders were uneasy about letting the break escape; at the same time, no one really wanted to pursue. Finally something was worked out between team leaders and with 65 km left, Barredo dropped back to the peloton, his hopes for a stage win dashed.
Once the peloton relaxed and the gap started growing, Gonzalo Rabuñol of Xacobeo Galicia attacked, opening a gap of over two minutes over the chase group, while the peloton fell to eight minutes back.
While Rabuñol rode away, the rest of the chase group sparred for position. Four riders—Bela Kadri (AG2R), Jean-Christophe Peraud (Omega Pharma-Lotto,) Jelle Vanendert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Gianpaolo Caruso (Katusha)—opened a gap on the chasers.
This didn’t last, but it did focus the group; they set off in earnest to catch Rabuñol, which they did, 24 km from the end. The speed of the chase dropped more riders, and the original fifteen was down to nine.
Rabuñol was caught at the base of the Cat 3 Puerto de Benifallín. He made a brave charge at the peak, but Cofidis rider David Moncoutie beat him to the top.
Jean Christophe Peraud, of Omega Pharma Lotto, was riding for the red jersey. He had started the day 6:59 behind, but with the gap to the peloton approaching nine minutes, it seemed he might capture the lead. The climb up the Benifallín drained him, and he dropped back, but his efforts earned him fifth overall, up from 37th.
Lopez attacked first on the descent from Puerto de Benifallín, but four riders—Moncoutie, Caruso, Euskatel’s Egoï Martinez, and Liquigas’s Roman Kreuziger road him down.
Not done yet, Lopez made another attempt, on the Alto del Revolcat, the final climb; this time only Moncoutie could mark him, and the pair opened a gap on the chase. Roman Kreuziger then made an effort, and dragged the other three chasers across to the lead pair at the top of the climb.
Lopez launched his final attack on the descent. The four chasers couldn’t organize, and Lopez outran them all to the line. The final uphill 1.5 km proved to be harder than anyone had imagined. Kreuziger and Caruso both made strong efforts, but they had waited too long and had underestimated the slope.
Monday will be a rest day. The 2010 Vuelta a Espana resumes Tuesday with Stage Ten, which finishes with the short, steep, Alto del Rat Penat, which could be the scene for some spectacular battles.
| Vuelta a Espana Stage Nine | |||
|
| Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | David Lopez | Caisse d’Epargne | 5:20:50 |
| 2 | Roman Kreuziger | Liquigas | +0:00:06 |
| 3 | Giampaolo Caruso | Katusha | +0:00:13 |
| 4 | David Moncoutie | Cofidis | +0:00:21 |
| 5 | Biel Kadri | Ag2R-La Mondiale | +0:00:27 |
| 6 | Egoï Martinez | Euskaltel-Euskadi | +0:00:30 |
| 7 | Jean Christophe Peraud | Omega Pharma-Lotto | +0:00:55 |
| 8 | Gonzalo Rabuñol | Xacobeo Galicia | +0:02:36 |
| 9 | Oscar Pujol | Cervélo Test Team | +0:03:52 |
| 10 | Jelle Vanendert | Omega Pharma-Lotto | +0:04:17 |
| 2010 Vuelta a Espana General Classifiaction | |||
|
| Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Igor Anton | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 37:56:42 |
| 2 | Joaquin Rodriguez | Katusha | 37:56:42 |
| 3 | Vincenzo Nibali | Liquigas-Doimo | 0:00:02 |
| 4 | Xavier Tondo | Cervélo Test Team | 0:00:42 |
| 5 | Jean Christophe Peraud | Omega Pharma-Lotto | 0:00:52 |
| 6 | Ruben Plaza-Molina | Caisse d’Epargne | 0:01:15 |
| 7 | Ezequiel Mosquera | Xacobeo Galicia | 0:01:18 |
| 8 | Nicolas Roche | Ag2R-La Mondiale | 0:01:19 |
| 9 | Marzio Bruseghi | Caisse d’Epargne | 0:01:22 |
| 10 | Peter Velits | HTC-Columbia | 0:01:26 |
