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Vuelta a España stage 9 report: Kämna completes the set on a chaotic day for the peloton

With GC timings taken before the top of the final climb, only very small gains were made and Sepp Kuss remains in red.

Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe) wins stage 9 of the 2023 Vuelta a España. Photo: © Cor Vos

Kit Nicholson
by Kit Nicholson 03.09.2023 Photography by
Cor Vos
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Breakaway rider Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe) took a well-deserved stage victory on stage 9 of the Vuelta a España, adding to his Giro and Tour stage wins to complete the trilogy of Grand Tour stage wins.

Though the GC picture remains much the same as it looked 24 hours ago, it was a far from simple day out in Murcia. It started with crosswind action which returned mid-stage, then a change was made to the final climb – for those with a GC interest – due to dangerous conditions in the last 2000 metres. Ultimately, the race was pretty much neutralised, with Primož Roglič gaining little more than a psychological poke to the ribs by crossing the GC line a couple of lengths ahead of his key rivals, and his teammate Sepp Kuss maintains the race lead going into the first rest day.

ECHELONS! You can just about spot the main peloton in the distance, about 90 seconds behind the favourites group that contained the more vigilant GC contenders and domestiques, and Kaden Groves.

Brief results:

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The GC time was taken 2,050 metres from the finish, between the cones you can see at the start of this clip. NB. Almeida and Vlasov were several seconds further up the road, while cameras focused on the likes of Roglič and Evenepoel.

Brief analysis:

Sepp Kuss did the red jersey proud all day long. (This image shows the first echelon action of the stage.)

Quote of the day:

Lennard Kämna was the favourite in the breakaway and, though he was far from certain he and his companions would stay away, the 26-year-old German delivered after a stinging acceleration in the last 5 km.

The climb was very tricky. It was always up and down and that made it difficult to get away. I had a gap and then I went full throttle. I tried to break it by going two minutes over my limit. I skipped the Tour de France because I wanted to win a stage here. We succeeded and that is why I’m very happy.

Kämna said post-stage

Social highlights:

It was a swift start, with the front group – including the red jersey, five of his Jumbo-Visma teammates, and Evenepoel +1 – gaining almost a minute over the Movistar and UAE-led main peloton before being caught near the base of the first major climb.

Conditions remained unpleasant all the way to the finish, where early images warned of a tricky, chaotic, ridiculous final few-hundred metres buried in thick clouds. Meanwhile, the sun shone on stage 1 of the Tour of Britain.

Speaking of the Tour of Britain…

The best summary of the day:

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