Damiano Caruso wins 2021 La Vuelta a Espana Stage 9

Damiano Caruso won 2021 La Vuelta a Espana Stage 9 in a massive effort that saw an overhaul in the overall race standings on August 22.

Damiano Caruso won Stage 9 at the 2021 La Vuelta a Espana after a remarkable effort that saw him maintain a lead that blew out at times to around five minutes over the peloton.

Stage 9 was from Puerto Lumbreras to Alto de Velefique and was 188 kilometres long and saw a steep mountain climb at the finish line.

Caruso has now won his second stage in a Grand Tour, the first being a stage win in this year’s Giro d’Italia.

Damiano Caruso leaves the breakaway and peloton far behind

A breakaway formed pretty quickly on the stage consisting of Team Caja Rural’s Amezqueta, Team UAE’s Rafael Maijka, and Team DSM’s Romain Bardet and Martijn Tusveldt.

They were nearly caught by the peloton at the peak of the penultimate climb but Team Jumbo Visma took a turn on the front of the peloton and slowed down the pace making.

Caruso had already pulled ahead of the breakaway and was extending his gap and Tusveldt pulled off having done what he could for Bardet while Team AG2R-Citroen’s Bouchard pulled away from the peloton and caught up to the breakaway group.

While Caruso continued to extend his gap out to five minutes ahead of the peloton, Team Jumbo Visma kicked things into high gear at the base of the final climb up the Alto de Velefique.

The gap lessened considerably as eventually the defending champion Primoz Roglic broke away after catching the previous breakaway group and only Team Movistar’s Enric Mas could keep pace with him.

But at the finish it was Caruso who crossed the line and won the stage and also took the mountains classification lead away from Bardet after having collected points all along the stage and Bardet being unable to get second at all necessary points.

Roglic crossed second and Mas came in third after him.

Jack Haig and Miguel Angel Lopez came across soon after with Adam Yates right behind.

2021 La Vuelta a Espana overall standings after Stage 9

The overall standings also got shook up after Stage 9.

Roglic maintains the red jersey and overall race lead, Enric Mas moved up into second place, Lopez into third, Haig into fourth, Bernal into fifth, and Yates into sixth.

Ciccone was seventh, Kuss eighth, Grossschartner was ninth and De la Cruz was tenth.