Stage 9

The road

At the start

Sierra Nevada, and the first crunch

Roglič took Cazorla and 56 seconds with it; Ben O'Connor's lead is down to 3:49, and his team have never defended a Grand Tour leader's jersey in their history. Today is the first true mountain day: the Puerto de El Purche, then the Alto de Hazallanas twice, approached by a narrow corkscrew descent that runs straight into a fourteen-per-cent wall, and a long, fast drop into Granada afterwards.

How it was won

1. 1148 km to go

   Van Aert sparks a 26-man break

   Van Aert attacks from the gun and a 26-rider move forms, UAE loading it with three riders including a battered Adam Yates, nearly ten minutes down on GC.

2. 288 km to go

   UAE blow it apart on El Purche

   Soler detonates the break from the foot of El Purche while, behind, Richard Carapaz launches an audacious long-range raid out of the peloton, ripping through the scattered escapees.

3. 354 km to go

   Yates goes solo on Hazallanas

   Halfway up the first ascent of the fearsome Alto de Hazallanas, 54km from the line, Yates rips clear of his last companions and sets off alone over the mountain.

4. 423 km to go

   Mas attacks the red group

   On the second ascent Mas attacks and gains a minute on the red-jersey group, only to overcook a corner on the descent into Granada and throw it all away.

5. 5At the line

   Yates solos into Granada

   Yates holds on for a sensational solo win that vaults him back into GC contention; Carapaz takes second and a podium place, while O'Connor even adds four seconds to his red-jersey lead.

The result