Preview - Vuelta a Espana 2022 stage 9

The ninth day of the Vuelta a Espana will be the last in the north of Spain, and although it doesn’t look like the traditional mountain day, it will be a very important one for the GC as the race will head deep into the rugged mountains of the Asturias en route to tackle on of it’s hardest and steepest ascents.

The start of the day is not flat, however it will get much worst in the second half. 116 (8.3Km, 5.7%), 78 (10Km, 5.5%) and 52 (6.7Km, 5.2%) will be important climbs for the KOM classification, a quick sequence of ascents however none of them being overly long.

The climb to La Campa will summit with 23 kilometers to go, it won’t be complicated but it will feature a bonified sprinter at the top, and will further thin down the peloton. The group should remain relatively big however, and that will play a role in the furious leadout that is expected towards the final climb.

That will be to Les Praeres. As some would say, a goat track – a suiting description since the finale is located in a wide grassland inside the mountains. Officially it is a 3.9Km climb at 12.6% average gradient, incredibly steep however the first two 2.5 kilometers are mostly around gradients of 15%, a brutal effort from start to top where the peloton will just slowly be grinded until only the very best sit in front. It’s a 15-minute ascent, so the riders cannot risk gong into the red too early. Inside the final kilometer there’s a small flat section, but the brutal ramps go almost all the way into the finish.

CyclingUpToDate prediction:
**** Remco Evenepoel
*** Primoz Roglic, Enric Mas
** Jay Vine, Jai Hindley, Simon Yates
* Pavel Sivakov, Juan Ayuso, Ben O'Connor, Tao Geoghegan Hart

A win for Remco Evenepoel, the leader of the race is looking to add some more time into the competition.