Joaquim Rodriguez did what everybody expected from him – to make a move to the stage win on the mountaintop finish in Cumbre del Sol. The 9th stage of the Tour of Spain was a flat stage but the final, a 3 km typical very steep climb suited Rodriguez very well.

Rodriguez attacked with 300 meters to go but was overtaken by Chris Froome (Team Sky) and stage winner Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) who takes the red leader’s jersey from Johan Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge) who lost 59 seconds. Rodriguez is now second overall, 57 seconds behind Dumoulin.

“At the bottom of the climb, Movistar took the race in their hands. When the rhythm slowed down, Dumoulin made a smart move to attack, but I did not panic. He was still in range to be caught back. It was for all of us very hard. Not only because of the climb but also because of Dumoulin, what a surprise he is. Dumoulin surprised us all even more than Froome who played it very smart. I tried to counter Froome, but did not manage to come back – Dumoulin did - but I can be happy with my performance.

"It was a very fast climb from the start when Valverde attacked full gas. I tried as hard as I could and I didn't really expect to be so good. I was really surprised by Chris Froome, the way he rode today after not being so well the other day. But I was above all impressed by Tom Dumoulin. He was very, very impressive.

“I did not win but I feel very well. Already to Camino del Rey I was able to win. Now again. I just need to keep more calmness in decisive situations. It will come. In the end my goal here is to finish as high as possible in the GC. For the moment it looks good. Dumoulin the main rival? I don't think so. The coming week will tell us more. And don't forget Valverde. He lost time today but we need to see how he will recover from his crash,” said Joaquim Rodriguez.

Alejandro Valverde lost 20 seconds is now 5th overall at +1.09.

Stage 9 started in Torrevieja and ended atop Alto de Puig Llorença in Cumbre del Sol. After 168,3 km of racing. A big break of 14 riders went away very early, just after few kilometers. But, the peloton, led by Katusha and some other teams, controlled the situation. So, just on the bottom of the final climb the break was neutralized. Just after that moment GC contenders started to attack each other. Team Katusha’s leader Joaquim Rodriguez was always in the middle of action, answering attacks and attacking for himself. In the final Rodriguez attacked with 300 meters to go, it was a strong move, but later Froome and Dumoulin passed him.

“Dumoulin was the strongest guy. We have to accept that, but I can be happy and proud with what Team Katusha did today. The riders really did everything to bring Joaquim in perfect position to that last climb. The climb suited “Purito” very well. The good thing is that he is now second in GC, a perfect position to tackle the coming hard mountain stages,” said team director José Azevedo.

Tomorrow’s stage ten bring the riders from Valencia to Castellón, 146,6 km.