Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin painted the town red on Sunday after winning stage 9 of the vuelta – a result that put him in the overall race lead. The
ADVERTISEMENTDutch rider Tom Dumoulin painted the town red on Sunday after winning stage 9 of the vuelta – a result that put him in the overall race lead.
The day’s action happened at the end of the 168km stage to Cumbre del Sol in the south of Spain.
It ended with a four kilometre steep climb to the finish line.
The race exploded in the final two kilometres with overnight leader Esteban Chaves struggling to keep pace.
Dumoulin kicked out with pace to reach the one kilometre red kite first but Tour de France champion Chris Froome mounted a serious chase down and closed the gap.
Froome’s attack looked like it would carry all the way to the line but Dumoulin jumped out of the saddle, stomping his pedals in a bid for a last gasp victory.
The impressive youngster managed to get around Froome just in time to hit the line first, win the stage and take the leaders jersey.
Dumoulin now leads the Vuelta by 57 seconds ahead of Joaquim Rodriguez who finished the day third.
Froome is 8th at one minute and 18 seconds.