2009 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11
Encyclopedia
2009 Vuelta a España
The 2009 Vuelta a España was the 64th Vuelta a España. The event took place from 29 August to 20 September 2009. For only the second time in the race's history, it began away from Spanish soil, with the race not in fact reaching Spain until Stage 5....
, with Stage 1 on 29 August and Stage 11 on 9 September.
Stages
- s.t. indicates that the rider crossed the finish line in the same group as the one receiving the time above him, and was therefore credited with the same finishing time.
Stage 1
29 August 2009 — AssenAssen
Assen is a municipality and a city in the north eastern Netherlands, capital of the province of Drenthe. It received city rights in 1809. Assen's main claim to fame is the TT Circuit Assen the motorcycle racing circuit, where on the last Saturday in June the Dutch TT is run...
(Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
), 4.5 km (ITT
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...
)
The course for the first individual time trial was as flat as it gets; there were no rises in elevation whatsoever. The stage was one lap through TT Circuit Assen
TT Circuit Assen
The TT Circuit Assen is a motorsport race track built in 1955 and located in Assen, Netherlands. Host of the Dutch TT race, it is considered "The Cathedral" of motorcycling by the fans...
, a noted motorcycle course.
The early time to beat was put up by rider Markel Irizar
Markel Irizar
Markel Irizar Aranburu is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . Like team founder Lance Armstrong, Irizar is a testicular cancer survivor.- Palmares :2002...
, who stopped the clock at 5' 43". His time was beaten by a trio of riders who came about an hour after him. For a time, the Italian team held the top three positions, with Daniele Bennati
Daniele Bennati
Daniele Bennati is an Italian road racing cyclist specializing in fast sprint finishes. He currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He turned professional in 2002, when he joined the team and wore zebra stripes as part of Mario Cipollini’s leadout train...
, Roman Kreuziger
Roman Kreuziger
Roman Kreuziger is a Czech professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . Kreuziger is an all-rounder, with climbing and time trial abilities, becoming a contender for the General Classification of stage races...
, and Polish national champion Maciej Bodnar
Maciej Bodnar
Maciej Bodnar is a Polish professional road racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam Liquigas.-Palmares:20062007-External links:...
, and they took the lead in the teams' classification after the stage thanks to these results. Around the time the Liquigas trio finished their rides, rain began to fall, making the course more difficult for the riders to follow. It also caused Carlos Barredo
Carlos Barredo
Carlos Barredo Llamazales is a Spanish road racing cyclist with UCI ProTeam . He was issued a suspension for the first two months of the 2011 season in response to a fight with Rui Costa after a 2010 Tour de France stage, with Barredo claiming that Costa had ridden dangerously in the final stages...
to slip and nearly fall, losing several seconds, as he left the starthouse; subsequently, turf was put down over the ramp.
After Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who won the 2005 World Road Race Championship. He is a member of the team, and is considered a single-day road race specialist with a strong finishing sprint...
and Tyler Farrar
Tyler Farrar
Tyler Farrar is an American professional road racing cyclist since 2003.-Cycling career:Farrar started racing at 13, and rode for in 2003, in 2004, and in 2006 and 2007. In April 2006 he crashed near the finish of the Circuit de la Sarthe and broke his collarbone and missed most of the season...
in turn posted provisional best times, Olympic time trial champion Fabian Cancellara
Fabian Cancellara
Fabian Cancellara is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . A time trial specialist, he is a four-time World Time Trial Champion and is the current Olympic gold medalist...
took the course and stopped the clock in 5' 20" to win the stage and gain the first golden jersey. Cancellara expressed surprise at his win after the stage, saying he had come to the Vuelta mainly thinking of it as preparation for the world championships.
Stage 1 Results
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General Classification after Stage 1
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Stage 2
30 August 2009 — Assen (Netherlands) to Emmen (Netherlands), 202 kmThe first mass-start stage was also very flat. A fourth-category climb to all of 30 meters in elevation was the race's first. It did not afford any points for the mountains classification, though the first rider past the climb point got the first red jersey.
A five-rider group was away for much of this stage. This breakaway comprised Francisco José Martínez, Tom Leezer
Tom Leezer
Tom Leezer is a Dutch road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam Rabobank.-Palmares:200320042005...
, Dominik Roels
Dominik Roels
Dominik Roels is a former German professional road bicycle racer, who previously rode for German Team Milram. He announced his retirement in January 2011.-Palmares:20032005...
, David García
David García (cyclist)
David García Dapena is a retired Spanish professional road bicycle racer.During the 2010 Vuelta a España he tested positive for EPO. A later sample also tested positive for HES. The Spanish Cycling Federation subsequently banned him for 2 years, effective October 6, 2010, and declared his results...
, and Lieuwe Westra
Lieuwe Westra
Lieuwe Westra is a Dutch professional racing cyclist, who is riding for the UCI ProTeam .- Palmares :200720082009...
. Westra had tried to make the breakaway to honor his recently-deceased father, and his teammates with wore black armbands in memorial as well. It was Leezer who was the first across the Relus climb to get the first mountains jersey, one that he was assured to hold through the next day, as the Stage 3 course had no categorized climbs on it.
All but Westra were caught with 20 kilometers left to race. Westra fought on, but was caught 9 kilometers later, leading to the widely expected field sprint finish. did most of the work going in to the finish, with everyone on that team but sprinter André Greipel
Andre Greipel
André Greipel is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam .He currently lives in Hürth, close to Cologne in Germany...
pulling at the front of the peloton in the stage's final 5 kilometers. In the end, Milram's Gerald Ciolek
Gerald Ciolek
Gerald Michael Ciolek is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . In 2005, Ciolek won the German National Championship road race at age 18, the youngest ever rider to do so....
was the winner, at the head of a sprint so close Ciolek himself was unsure he had won. A selection was made in the final 2 kilometers of the stage, with Alexander Vinokourov
Alexander Vinokourov
Alexander Nikolaevich Vinokourov, also written Alexandre Vinokourov, is an ethnically Russian Kazakhstani professional road bicycle racer who currently competes with the UCI ProTeam Astana...
and Samuel Sánchez
Samuel Sánchez
Samuel Sánchez González is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He was the gold medal winner in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Men's Road Race. In recent years Sánchez has proven himself in hilly classics and stage races as one of the most important riders in the peloton...
notably losing 18 seconds, and other groups who had been with the peloton losing up to and over a minute.
Stage 2 Results
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General Classification after Stage 2
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Stage 3
31 August 2009 — Zutphen (Netherlands) to VenloVenlo
Venlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.In 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago,...
(Netherlands), 185 km
The string of Dutch flat stages continued. This course did not have a categorized climb, though it had an uncategorized hill about two-thirds of the way into the stage. The stage briefly visited Germany, and included some cobbled passages, which could have been skipped if the weather was inclement.
The breakaway for this stage comprised Lars Boom
Lars Boom
Lars Anthonius Johannes Boom is a professional cyclo-cross and road racing cyclist who was born in Vlijmen in the Netherlands. Boom rides for UCI ProTeam Rabobank cycling team, having previous ridden for the junior and continental teams. Boom won the cyclo-cross world championships in 2008...
, Johnny Hoogerland
Johnny Hoogerland
Johnny Hoogerland is a Dutch professional cyclist riding for the Dutch Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team. Due to the prominent bull-tattoo on his arm and his roots from the peninsula of Zuid-Beveland he is nicknamed the "Bull of Beveland"....
, and Jesús Rosendo
Jesús Rosendo
Jesús Rosendo Prado is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI Professional Continental team Andalucía-Cajasur...
. Though the two Dutch riders were decidedly more familiar with the weather conditions and the roads the course offered, it was Rosendo who stayed out front the longest. The breakaway's maximum advantage neared ten minutes, but the peloton had no trouble catching them, with Rosendo reeled in 20 kilometers from the finish. set up the sprint in the stage's final kilometers, just as they had all season, but it was not their main sprinter André Greipel
Andre Greipel
André Greipel is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam .He currently lives in Hürth, close to Cologne in Germany...
who took the win, but rather leadout man Greg Henderson
Greg Henderson
Gregory Henderson is a professional track and road racing cyclist who rides for , but who will ride for Lotto in 2012. His career includes winning the 15 km scratch race at the 2004 world championships and, in road cycling, winning the points competition at the 2005 Tour de Georgia. He...
. Henderson was intending to lead Greipel in, but when he did not see the German in the stage's final 150 meters, he sprinted for the win himself, and edged out Borut Božič
Borut Božic
Borut Božič is a Slovenian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for . Considered a sprinter in the mould of Óscar Freire, Božič's career highlights include winning the 2007 Tour de Wallonie, victory in the first stage of the 2009 Tour de Pologne , winning the sixth stage of the...
at the line. It was 's 72nd win of the season.
Stage 3 Results
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General Classification after Stage 3
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Stage 4
1 September 2009 — Venlo (Netherlands) to LiègeLiège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
(Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
), 224 km
This was another flat stage, though it had three fourth-category climbs. It visited some of the same roads used yearly by the Amstel Gold Race
Amstel Gold Race
The Amstel Gold Race is a road bicycle race held in the southern part of the province of Limburg, Netherlands. Since 1989 it has been among the races included in season long rankings tables, as part of the UCI Road World Cup , the UCI ProTour , UCI World Ranking and from 2011 the UCI World Tour...
and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. With this stage finish, Liège is the only city that can boast having hosted stages of the Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
, the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
, and now the Vuelta. After this stage, the riders traveled by plane to Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
for the continuation of the Vuelta on Spanish soil.
With the three fourth-category climbs on course offering the Vuelta's first mountains points, this was an important stage in which to make the breakaway. Not only would the mountains classification red jersey go to a member of this breakaway, but so too would the combination classification white jersey, as qualification for it would be restricted to riders who had scored points in the mountains classification. The four who made the breakaway were Javier Ramirez, Lars Boom
Lars Boom
Lars Anthonius Johannes Boom is a professional cyclo-cross and road racing cyclist who was born in Vlijmen in the Netherlands. Boom rides for UCI ProTeam Rabobank cycling team, having previous ridden for the junior and continental teams. Boom won the cyclo-cross world championships in 2008...
, Dominik Roels
Dominik Roels
Dominik Roels is a former German professional road bicycle racer, who previously rode for German Team Milram. He announced his retirement in January 2011.-Palmares:20032005...
, and Sergey Lagutin
Sergey Lagutin
Sergey Lagutin is a professional road racing cyclist, currently riding for UCI Professional Continental team Vacansoleil. In 2003, Lagutin became world champion—capturing the Under-23 men's road race. He represented Uzbekistan in the men's road race at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games...
. Boom topped two of the three climbs in first position to gain the red jersey, while Roels wound up in white. The breakaway's maximum advantage over the peloton was over 14 minutes, but still the peloton easily caught them long before the finish, with some 30 kilometers to go. After several attempted escapes, the end of this stage was again a field sprint, won this time by the man who was denied by a teammate the day before, André Greipel
Andre Greipel
André Greipel is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam .He currently lives in Hürth, close to Cologne in Germany...
. A big crash caused majority of the field to fall or jam behind, which caused the top seven to be of riders from only two teams.
The day was marked by consistent rainfall, which made the stage's final few kilometers perilous. Many riders crashed, perhaps most notably Jakob Fuglsang
Jakob Fuglsang
Jakob Diemer Fuglsang is a Danish professional racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam . Before turning professional for Team Saxo Bank, he was a mountain biker racing for Team Cannondale-Vredestein. He has won the U23 World Cup...
, who lost control of his bike and ran into a parked truck. While Fuglsang was able to continue, Charles Wegelius, Chris Horner
Chris Horner
Christopher Horner is an American professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . A native and current resident of Bend, Oregon, Horner dominated the American road racing scene by winning the points standings in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar.-PAA-NutraFig...
, and Robert Kišerlovski
Robert Kiserlovski
Robert Kišerlovski is a Croatian professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . He turned professional in 2005.At the 2011 Paris–Nice, Kišerlovski crashed on a slippery downhill and slid underneath a parked truck, being caught underneath it for several minutes and needing eight stitches.-...
would all put out before the race reached Spain. Many other riders sustained minor injuries, and the coming rest day, uncharacteristically early coming after four flat stages, was welcomed by much of the peloton.
Stage 4 Results
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General Classification after Stage 4
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Stage 5
3 September 2009 — TarragonaTarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
to Vinaròs
Vinaròs
Vinaròs is a town and municipality in eastern Spain, in the province of Castelló and part of the autonomous Valencian Community. The town is on the Gulf of Valencia coast of the western Mediterranean Sea, Vinaròs is a fishing harbour and tourist destination....
, 174 km
The first stage in the Tour of Spain to actually take place in Spain, this course offered the first real climb for the riders, the second-category Alto de Fatxas soon after the stage begun. A breakaway had already gained a lead of 4:30 before reaching the climb. The breakaway consisted of Julián Sánchez
Julián Sánchez
Julián Sánchez Pimienta is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He competes for the UCI Professional Continental team Contentpolis-Ampo.- Palmarès :2006...
, Aitor Hernandez
Aitor Hernández
Aitor Hernández Gutiérrez is a Spanish racing cyclist who is currently not under contract to any team.- Palmares :199820022006 – Euskaltel-Euskadi2007 – Euskaltel-Euskadi2009...
, José Antonio Lopez Gil, Julien El Fares
Julien El Fares
Julien El Fares is a French road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam Cofidis.-Palmares:20062009-External links:...
, Matthé Pronk
Matthé Pronk
Matthé Pronk is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer, currently not under contract to any team.- Palmares :1996...
and Serafin Martinez
Serafín Martínez
Serafín Martínez Acevedo is a Spanish road cyclist who cycled for the continental team Xacobeo-Galicia between 2007 and 2010. Since they have folded he has been without a team.- External links :...
. The group collected the set of climber's points for the day, with Aitor Hernández
Aitor Hernández
Aitor Hernández Gutiérrez is a Spanish racing cyclist who is currently not under contract to any team.- Palmares :199820022006 – Euskaltel-Euskadi2007 – Euskaltel-Euskadi2009...
collecting the maximum to take the red jersey. On behaf of the sprinters, Stijn Devolder
Stijn Devolder
Stijn Devolder is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer. He rides for UCI ProTeam , having ridden for Discovery Channel between 2004 and 2007 and from 2008 to 2010. Devolder won his first professional race at the 2004 Four Days of Dunkirk, winning stage 4...
of lead the charge the catch the breakaway group. They were caught with 30 km to go. David de la Fuente
David De La Fuente
David de la Fuente Rasilla is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He rides for the cycling team. De la Fuente led the mountains classification of the 2006 Tour de France for a number of stages, donning the Polka Dot jersey after stage 2, and then again after stage 11 until Michael...
and Philippe Gilbert
Philippe Gilbert
Philippe Gilbert is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . Gilbert is a classics specialist...
both tried to make a late move at 7 km to go, but the led peloton gave them no more than a 20-second advantage. Once the sprinters launched their assault, Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who won the 2005 World Road Race Championship. He is a member of the team, and is considered a single-day road race specialist with a strong finishing sprint...
looked to have the advantage, but André Greipel
Andre Greipel
André Greipel is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam .He currently lives in Hürth, close to Cologne in Germany...
overtook him in the last few meters to take his second consecutive win and acquire both the green and yellow jerseys.
Stage 5 Results
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General Classification after Stage 5
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Stage 6
4 September 2009 — XàtivaXàtiva
Xàtiva is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways....
, 186 km
This out-and-back stage in Xàtiva includes two third-category climbs never before visited in the Vuelta. The course concludes with the Vuelta's first finishing circuit, two laps which end at Xàtiva's Castle National Monument.
Stage 6 Results
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General Classification after Stage 6
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Stage 7
5 September 2009 — Valencia, 30 km (ITTIndividual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...
)
The first race of any substance against the clock takes place on a Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
urban racing circuit. It is almost perfectly flat, with only the gentlest of rises in elevation coming halfway into the circuit.
Stage 7 Results
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General Classification after Stage 7
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Stage 8
6 September 2009 — AlziraAlzira, Valencia
Alzira is a town and municipality of 45,000 inhabitants in Valencia, eastern Spain. It is the capital of the comarca of Ribera Alta in the province of Valencia.-Geographic situation:...
to Alto de Aitana, 206 km
This is a difficult stage, with seven categorized climbs on course (three second-category and four third-category) serving as a warm-up for the special-category Alto de Aitana at the finish. The course is also longer than most typical mountain stages in a Grand Tour, at 206 km, and figures to be the Vuelta's first truly selective stage. This stage produced one of the biggest shocks of the race so far with the retirement of Andy Schleck
Andy Schleck
Andy Raymond Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . He is the younger brother of Fränk Schleck, who also rides for . Their father Johny Schleck rode the Tour de France and Vuelta a España between 1965 and 1974...
, a pre-race favourite.
Stage 8 Results
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General Classification after Stage 8
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Stage 9
7 September 2009 — AlcoyAlcoy
Alcoy may stand for:* Alcoy, Spain , a municipality in the province of Alicante, Spain* Alcoy, Cebu, province of Cebu, Philippines....
to Xorret del Cati, 188 km
The ninth stage of the Vuelta takes place between Alcoi and Xorret del Catí. The stage has a similar layout to that of the previous day: many mountain climbs and a mountain finish. However, this time the climb is not as long and steep as Aitana: Xorret del Catí is a short, explosive climb that requires sprockets of 25 and even 27 teeth..
Stage 9 Results
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General Classification after Stage 9
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Stage 10
8 September 2009 — AlicanteAlicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
to Murcia
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...
, 186 km
This stage started high in elevation and undulated a little before a drastic descent about two-thirds of the way into the course. The Alto de la Cresta del Gallo just before the finish kept the sprinters' teams from having anything to say on this day.
A breakaway of 19 riders formed early in the race, but consecutive attacks on the Alto de la Cresta del Gallo produced a group of four that held on until the finish. Alexander Vinokourov
Alexander Vinokourov
Alexander Nikolaevich Vinokourov, also written Alexandre Vinokourov, is an ethnically Russian Kazakhstani professional road bicycle racer who currently competes with the UCI ProTeam Astana...
, Ryder Hesjedal
Ryder Hesjedal
Ryder Hesjedal is a Canadian professional racing cyclist for . He is a former mountain biker, winning a silver medal at the 2001 Under-23 world championship...
, Simon Gerrans
Simon Gerrans
Simon Gerrans is an Australian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for the British UCI ProTour team, .-Biography:Gerrans was born in Melbourne, Victoria and grew up in Mansfield, Victoria....
and Jakob Fuglsang
Jakob Fuglsang
Jakob Diemer Fuglsang is a Danish professional racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam . Before turning professional for Team Saxo Bank, he was a mountain biker racing for Team Cannondale-Vredestein. He has won the U23 World Cup...
worked together until the finish was in sight. They then came close to a standstill as the leading riders began to jockey for a drafting position for the start of the sprint. Vinokourov was the first to jump, as Gerrans waited patiently behind and was able to hold off Hesjedal and Fuglsang to take the win.
Stage 10 Results
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General Classification after Stage 10
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Stage 11
9 September 2009 — Murcia to Caravaca de la CruzCaravaca de la Cruz
Caravaca de la Cruz is a town and municipality of southeastern Spain in the province of Murcia, near the left bank of the River Argos, a tributary of the Segura. This city is the capital of the northwest Region of Murcia. It has a population of 26,449 as of 2010...
, 191 km
This stage sees the Vuelta leave Murcia. The course has three categorized climbs, one each in the first, second, and third categories, and none of which have been visited in the Vuelta previously.
Stage 11 Results
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General Classification after Stage 11
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