Between stage end of stage 9 in Caravaca de la Cruz and Valladolid which will host stage 10, there are about 500 kilometers in distance. Hence the Vuelta a Espana organizers provided two charter planes to transport the riders, but one could not make it to the destination.
One of the two planes, which departed only 15 minutes after the first one, could not land in Valladolid due to torrential rain, wind and a lightning storm. This caused a new unexpected logistical nightmare for the race organizers who have already had to neutralize two stage finales - and face dark conditions in the early team time-trial. The plane had to be redirected to Madrid, and then be followed by a three-hour bus ride back to Valladolid.
“After a diversion we arrived in Madrid. It is now midnight and we still have a few hours to go to Valladolid. This is karma, I think. Airplane movements in a Grand Tour will no longer be of this time in 2023," Romain Bardet wrote, as a few riders shared the inconvenient incident on social media. The race is being given no break and even on the rest day the riders face big challenges.
Over this Sunday central Spain has been hit with a rare bout of brutal weather conditions, and the finale at Caravaca de la Cruz was neutralized after it rained for the first time in year and a half in the area, causing the road to be filled with mud from vehicles who had to make it up to the finish. A race that is typically facing severe heat is having the opposite be the case this year.
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