Following a scorching hot stage 8 in La Manga, overall leader Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) and hotly tipped favourite Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) indicated the first break of the race couldn't come quick enough with Spain pushing the riders to their limit so far.
“It was a nice day and I stayed out of the troubles," Roglic said after maintaining the red jersey for another day, with Bernal choosing to be more honest about how his legs were feeling on the eighth day in the saddle as Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) sprinted to his second stage win.
"One day less," was all the Colombian had to say of the stage after retaining his white jersey for the best young rider as he continues to stay hot on the Slovenian's heels with his own aspirations for the maillot rojo.
And with a 188 kilometre journey to a finish on the Alto de Velefique awaiting the two riders before the rest day, their focus looks to be more towards survival rather than aggression with a lot more cycling to get through before the podium in Santiago de Compostela.
The peloton embarks from Puerto Lumbreras with the first categorised climb of the day coming 74 kilometres in, a 10.5 kilometre ascent of Alto de Cuatro Vientos at 3.8% to warm up the legs for a gruelling second half of the stage.
Profile of Stage 9 of the 2021 Vuelta a Espana. Source: ASO
Next up is the fearsome Alto Collado Venta Luisa, an extensive 29 kilometres of climbing at 4.4% to the summit 1,965 metres high, where attacks are sure to eventuate from GC hopefuls and those chasing mountain points, if they can maintain their pace and power.
Shortly after the Luisa descent comes the category 3 Alto Castro de Filabres (7.1 km at 3.9%) before the penultimate Velefique climb (13.2 km at 6.4%) sets the stage for the finish.
With that in mind, Bernal admitted not losing time would serve as a win in his eyes, attacking Roglic in later stages a better strategy for the Colombian as he sits sixth overall and 41 seconds off the Slovenian.
“It depends on how the legs are, we will see how we go tomorrow,” Bernal said.
“I would be pleased with not losing time in the overall.”
Holding an eight second lead on second-placed Felix Grosßscharnter (Bora-Hansgrohe), Roglic was coy when asked if he would try to extend that gap on the stage, or ride similarly to Bernal and look ahead to easier days.
“For sure, the difference is never big enough, but the most important thing is the difference at the end of the race,” said Roglič on Saturday. “But definitely tomorrow, we’ll try to do our best with the guys around me.”
“Whatever the situation will be, I have to go with it,” he said. “But it’s true tomorrow is a big day in the mountains.”
A big day indeed, and one that you certainly won't want to miss.
The Vuelta a Espana continues with a brutal 188 kilometre mountain stage highlighted by the category 1 Alto Collado Venta Luisa and Velefique finale. Watch the action live from 11:15pm (AEST) on SBS VICELAND, SBS On Demand and the SBS SKODA Tour Tracker.
