Stage 9 of the La Vuelta a España takes place on Sunday and the riders tackle a 184.5 kilometre route from Cartagena to Collado de la Cruz de Caravaca with the stage ending on a Cat 2 climb.
STAGE 8 WRAP
We only had 1 bet in Stage 8 and that was Primoz Roglic, the favourite to win the stage at 5/1. He duly delivered riding a patient final climb before sprinting around Remco Evenepoel in the finishing straight. Evenepoel rode a great race having to fend off the attentions of three Jumbo-Visma riders and he finished runner-up with Juan Ayuso in 3rd also on the same time.
The stage itself was quite a thriller with a strong breakaway going clear, but it became apparent early on that the likes of Jumbo-Visma wanted this one to come down to a General Classification battle.
JERSEY UPDATE
Jumbo-Visma’s Sepp Kuss has now moved into the Red Jersey and he leads Marc Soler by 43 seconds with Lenny Martinez losing his Red Jersey and he now sits a minute back. The favourites, Evenepoel, Roglic and Vingegaard are between 2.31 and 2.42 down on Kuss.
There hasn’t been any dramatic betting moves but Vingegaard has drifted from 1/1 to 5/4 with Roglic 2/1 and Remco 4/1.
Kaden Groves remains a very short-priced favourite for the Green Jersey at 3/10 and while Sepulveda hangs on to the Mountains Jersey, Remco Evenepoel has now moved within a point and the top 3 and Vingegaard remains favourite at 9/2.
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THE ROUTE
The start is fairly flat, but there is a Cat 1 climb peaking at the 60 kilometre mark of 11.5 kilometres at 4.9%. Then there is quite a bit of rolling terrain until the final climb, a Cat 2 of 8.2 kilometres at 5.5% and there are some steep gradients in there including the final kilometre which averages 9.5%.
STAGE 9 BETTING – Click here to bet
Promoz Roglic 8/1
Remco Evenepoel 10/1
Michael Storer 10/1
Lennard Kamna 11/1
Romain Bardet 12/1
Santiago Buitrago 16/1
Jonas Vingegaard 16/1
18/1 and better the balance
PREDICTION
Stage 8 was an absolute brute and I expect Jumbo-Visma to ride defensively in defence of Sepp Kuss’s Red Jersey. Remco Evenepoel looked very good on Saturday, but I don’t think he has the team to really put the pressure on here and the team that may decide whether the breakaway or the General Classification candidates contest this one is UAE who are looking very strong. I think we will get some General Classification action on the final climb, but I think this is going to be a stage where the breakaway will have their day.
Suggested Bet: Oier Lazkano at 66/1
He looked very strong on Saturday and if he hasn’t burnt too many matches can win this from the breakaway.
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
