Madrid (AFP)

The Italian Damiano Caruso won Sunday the 9th stage of the Tour of Spain at the top of the Alto de Velefique, whose strong percentages allowed Primoz Roglic to consolidate his red jersey.

The rider of the Bahrain-Victorious team won alone ahead of the Slovenian leader of the Jumbo and the Spaniard Enric Mas (Movistar).

Caruso made a nice close overall as he entered the top 15, 5'35 from the red jersey.

A red jersey that Primoz Roglic did more than defend on the slopes of the Alto de Velefique.

The Slovenian Primoz Rogic, still red jersey leader of the Vuelta, at the end of the 9th stage, disputed between Puerto Lumbreras and Alto de Velefique, and won, on August 22, 2021, by the Italian Damiano Caruso Jose Jordan AFP

At first a little behind after Adam Yates' first attack 9 km from the finish, the Slovenian did not panic and ended up coming back to the pedal.

He then countered the Briton, cracking his Colombian rival Egan Bernal, who conceded him a little more than a minute on this stage.

However, the leader of Ineos remains within two minutes of the Jumbo-Visma rider after a little over a week of racing.

Jack Haig, Miguel Angel Lopez and the Austrian Felix Grossschartner, second before the start, failed to keep in the wheels of the Slovenian.

On the line, the Australian and the Colombian however limit the damage and concede only 40 seconds to the now great favorite of the Tour of Spain.

The Austrian, meanwhile, finished further, nearly three minutes from Roglic.

- Mas dauphin, Landa dropped -

The only one who managed to hang up the red jersey wears the Movistar jersey: the Spaniard Enric Mas finished at the same time as the Slovenian and becomes his new runner-up in the overall standings.

The Slovenian Primoz Roglic finished 2nd ahead of the Spaniard Enric Mas, at the end of the 9th stage of the Vuelta, played on August 22, 2021 between Puerto Lumbreras and Alto de Velefique, and won by the Italian Damiano Caruso Jose Jordan AFP

On the other hand, his compatriot Mikel Landa is the big loser of this 9th stage.

Caruso's teammate at Bahrain Victorious experienced a big heat stroke from the first hectometers of the Alto de Velfique and probably put an end to his ambitions to win the Tour of Spain.

The Spaniard lost four minutes and four places overall compared to Saturday.

He is now 16th.

The French Romain Bardet and Geoffrey Bouchard, for their part, showed solid mountain skills throughout the stage.

Escaped in the company of strong climbers (Caruso, therefore, but also the Polish Rafal Majka), the Tricolores did not manage to follow the Italian but pursued him for several tens of kilometers.

Bardet complained about a mechanical problem at 11 km from the finish while he was still with Bouchard and was unable to catch up with his compatriot.

Bouchard, he managed to get rid of Rafal Majka before being joined by Roglic and his rivals 4km from the finish.

On Monday, the 171 riders still competing in this Tour of Spain will benefit from a day of rest before continuing with a stage tailored for backpackers between Roquetas de Mar and Rincon de la Victoria on Tuesday.

© 2021 AFP