Fantasy Cycling Vuelta Stage 9 Preview

This is the fourth time the Vuelta has featured the 1,970-metre summit of La Covatilla, with the finish coming after 10 kilometres of climbing at an average gradient of more than 7 per cent. Riders with aspirations of a high place on the GC will be on their toes today – as the saying goes, this isn't one of those stages where the race is won, but it’s certainly one where it can be lost.

GT's tips

"It's pretty high up at nearly 2,000 metres so altitude will definitely be a factor, it could affect some of the guys. From what we've seen in the Tour, the racing seems to be a lot closer this year, and if it's a similar thing in the Vuelta there could be six or seven riders who mark each other out, unless someone has a go early on. But for sure it's another GC day, it's definitely hard enough to make a difference."

To find out more about what Geraint Thomas is up to visit his website www.geraintthomas.com