Stage 9 of La Vuelta a Espana saw Songezo Jim animating the break of the day and Louis Meintjes finishing in 10th. The menu offered a similar profile like the previous day with the Cumbre del Sol being the sole obstacle of the day. However, the riders had to tackle the climb twice, finishing on the summit the second time around. Averaging at 11 percent it was all but easy.
Starting in Torrevieja the peloton rode along the Costa Blanca. The area is know as a regular training camp territory for a lot of riders and it didn’t take long until some tried to make use of their local knowledge. Songezo managed to get into the days 14 men breakaway.
The group was able to build up a lead of 5.20 minutes before the big teams began to chase. Katusha and Sky were to be seen on the front of the peloton, when the break hit the Cumbre del Sol for the first time. Songezo battled hard to stay with his breakaway companions. He couldn’t quite match the speed when the former allies started to attack each other with the first KOM in sight.
Back in the peloton Louis held his cards close to his chest and managed to stay with the GC favourites when they reeled in the breakaway’s remnants.
On the final 3.5 kilometers it was Dutch Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) who proofed to be the strongest. He put in a strong attack, but was caught by Chris Froome (Sky) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) only a few hundred meters before the line. Nevertheless, he attacked again to win the stage and take over the GC lead.
23-year-old Louis Meintjes stayed in contention and came home 34 seconds short of Dumoulin. In the GC he moved up to 12th place.
Songezo Jim – Rider
Louis Meintjes – Rider
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