2024 Vuelta a España Stage 9 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 9 of the 2024 Vuelta a España! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
The lion's share of La Vuelta's 9th is played out in the Sierra Nevada. After the Alto del Purche - 9.1 kilometres at 7.6% - and a double ascent of the Alto de Hazallanas - 7.3 kilometres at 9.6% - the race ends with a descent into Granada.
La Vuelta last visited Motril in 2017. It was also for a stage start. The race went to Antequera and Tomasz Marczynski won from the breakaway.
While half of the route followed the coastline, the riders head now head for the Sierra Nevada without dawdling, although it still takes more than 80 kilometers before the uphill fireworks ignite. The riders move through Vélez de Benaudalla, Lanjarón, Dúrcal, Padul, Alhendín, Armilla and Granada before looping back to Monachil, at the base of the Alto del Purche. The Purche is a 9.1 kilometres long climb with an average gradient of 7.6%, while the first 3 kilometres are especially hard. Also, the last 200 metres go up at 11%.
A downhill takes the riders to Pinos Genil, and they follow a winding road at shallow gradients high above a Bianchi-green reservoir. After moving through Güéjar Sierra, a steep drop leads to the reservoir's source, River Genil. The climb back out of the narrow valley is called the Alto de Hazallanas, which is a 7.3-kilometre toil at 9.8%.
The riders fly down the Hazallanas to return to Pinos Genil and do it again. So back up to Güéjar Sierra and then the brutal ramps of the Alto de Hazallanas.
The race concludes with a 23 kilometres downhill into Granada’s city centre.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprint comes with 6, 4 and 2 seconds.
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