Stage 9: Villaviciosa to Les Praeres

Simon Yates in 2018 won a stage at Les Praeres which is literary “The Prairies” – it’s an area of grassland … so they are finishing in a field? Maybe, but it’s a field in the middle of the Peñamayor mountains. Today the victor was little Louis Meintjes in his first Gand Tour stage win and making the fifth breakaway stage win in a row!

Photo of Remco Evenepoel on the final climb of Stage 9 — The imperious Remco Evenepoel on Stage 9 and the animated fans (credit: lavuelta.es)

But not far behind the South African came the red jersey, Remco once again putting chunks of time into his GC rivals, on the steepest of circus climbs. He would have deserved his celebratory ice-cream and a day off racing tomorrow.

Team of the Day

Best results for a minileague team on Stage 9 were by Just eat the dam porridge with Remco in Red (4th) and Carlos Rodriguez (9th). Dr James’ team are the first to get the daily honours for two stages (see Stage 6 for the porridge eaters’ squad). Velo Espana include the same two riders, which was enough for them to regain the top of the mini-league, after last leading the bunch on Stages 2 and 3.

Chart showing the rankings of the Green Wight Red minileague teams after Stage 9 — Paul’s *Velo Espana* is 8 points clear at the top!

Heading into Week Two

After Monday’s “rest” day (when they fly to the Costa Blanca) there is some respite from the Mountains, with the Individual Time Trial, two flat stages for the sprinters separated by a “medium mountains” stage, which I think is what we used to call hilly. Then back onto the steep stuff for a weekend in the Sierra Nevada.

I can’t do games today – I have a note from my mum

Of the 182 riders who started the Vuelta, 18 have had to withdraw: 10 have tested positive for Covid-19, and others with a bug or succumbed to the effects of earlier crashes. Stages 8 and 9 brought a bit of bad luck for our fantasy teams, so who have you lost? And how many riders does your team have left?

Chart showing the numbers of riders left in the race for each of the minileague teams after Stage 9

When in Villaviciosa …

Asturian traditional musicians parading with gaita bagpipes — Also very good for bagpipes (*gaita*) in fiesta season. I have CDs of *gaita* music, but If you are not a fan, best stay indoors.

… you are in Cider Country. No, not Somerset – Asturias! Just follow your nose to find a local sidre bar (honestly this really works) because the traditional way is to pour cider from a bottle held above the head, which splashes, even when expertly done, and after drinking most of your glass you should chuck a bit on the floor before you get the gritty bits. So the sawdust on the floor is very practical, and the smart places refresh the sawdust every few days (whether it needs it or not). Can you smell apples too?