09.09.2007/ Italian rider Leonardo Piepoli won todays 9th stage of the Vuelta Espana. Rabobank's Denis Menchov came in second and took over the overall lead from Stijn Devolder.

The ninth stage, which started in Huesca and finished at the summit of Cerler, has served to confirm that Stijn Devolder (Discovery Channel) wasn’t going to be able to hold up in the high mountains. The Belgian rider fell back on the first sustained climbs of a peak which also took a big toll on Vladimir Karpets (Caisse d'Epargne). The process of natural selection arrived a little over six kilometres from the finish line, when two pairs of riders formed in the lead: Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval). A few meters behind them were Carlos Sastre (CSC) and the Galician rider Ezequiel Mosquera (Karpin Galicia), who finally wound up losing 16 seconds. Other favourites, such as Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto), Vladimir Efimkin (Caisse d'Epargne) and Samuel Sánchez (Euskatel), crossed the finish line a little over one minute back.

In the stage on Sunday afternoon, the Rabo's and the Discovery Channel team controlled a thirteen-men escape. Rabobank riders Pedro Horrillo and Theo Eltink worked hard for their captain. But Menchov's key dometique was Mauricio Ardila.  Ardila was riding in the front ranks for a long time on the final climb, and he indicated that De Volder was experiencing difficulties. After the first steep kilometer, teammates from Carlos Sastre, who lot of time during yesterdays time trial, picked up the pace. The result was that De Volder, who was riding in the wheels of his favorites, immediately had to give up his position. The Belgian saw his competitor again at the finish a little later, after he had covered the final eleven kilometers five minutes slower than Piepoli and Menchov.

The duo was part of an elite group which had already been formed after one kilometer of climbing. An acceleration, first by Menchov and later on by Piepoli, forced the favorites to give up their position in the front. The Russian and the Italian established a good co-operation during the remaining five kilometers. Both riders were then rewarded at the finish. A stage victory for veteran Piepoli (36) and the leader’s jersey for Menchov. The Rabo team hopes that Menchov can at least consolidate this in the king stage on Monday. "A lot will depend on the strength of our team," acknowledged Rabobank sports director Adri Van Houwelingen. "Are we strong enough to control the race? That is what we are going to see right now. The danger comes from the second line. We need to be on the alert for that."

Menchov did not sprint against Piepoli and it looked like they made a deal. Piepoli said: "An agreement with Menchov? It’s more a question of logic. Menchov wants to win the Vuelta and at this stage of the race it’s better for Denis to be making friends than enemies. In addition, we happen to be friends." Piepoli was very emphatic as well: "The overall? I’m very old to be getting mixed up in the fight for the overall. The thing for me has to be winning stages. That’s what I’ve done in the last few years and it’s gone pretty well for me. For example, I was able to win at Cerler and that's very important. So I prefer to keep on with that way of racing."

Denis Menchov was happy with his golden jersey: "I couldn’t ask anything more of the stage. To say you enjoy a climb like Cerler, well, you never enjoy it, but yes, I felt very good. I earned the gold jersey and above all the way the race shapes up from now on is very favourable for my chances. For that reason, I can't say more."  Menchov also added: "I have the confidence of knowing my team is strong as well. That also makes me much calmer about the rest of the Vuelta, although in reality I think that it’s also important to say this and be sure that we’re all thinking about it: There is still a lot of racing ahead."

"We've definitely managed to make up for the disappointing time trial yesterday and it did wonders for the morale. The team worked hard to deliver Carlos perfectly for the finale. He just needed that little bit extra to win, but he did show that he's still in the running for a top spot. A lot can happen yet and tomorrow's stage is another tough one, where hopefully we'll get the chance to advance some more," said CSC sports director Kim Andersen after the stage.

Results

Stage 9

1 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir                 4.28.21
2 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank                                        
3 Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (Spa) Karpin Galicia                    0.17
4 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC                                        
5 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                  0.51
6 Daniel Moreno (Spa) Relax - Gam                                  1.03
7 Luis Perez Rodriguez (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                      
8 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                            
9 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne                             
10 Manuel Beltrán (Spa) Liquigas                                      
11 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto                                
12 Josep Jufré (Spa) Predictor - Lotto                             1.28
13 David López (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                              1.44
14 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne                            
15 Igor Antón (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                               
16 Philip Deignan (Irl) AG2r Prévoyance                            2.04
17 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                             
18 Carlos Castaño (Spa) Karpin Galicia                                
19 Andrea Tonti (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic                       2.08
20 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quickstep - Innergetic                        
21 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas                                  3.17
22 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                                
23 René Mandri (Est) AG2r Prévoyance                                  
24 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Team CSC                                    
25 Wim Van Huffel (Bel) Predictor - Lotto                             
26 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC                                
27 Mauricio Alberto Ardila (Col) Rabobank                             
28 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone          3.25
29 Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor - Lotto                                
30 Dionisio Galparsoro (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                      
31 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone           
32 Aitor Hernández (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                       3.50
33 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom                             4.03
34 Julian Sanchez Pimienta (Spa) Relax - Gam                          
35 David García (Spa) Karpin Galicia                               4.11
36 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - Fondital                             
37 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Team CSC                                        
38 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole                        4.24
39 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole                          
40 Manuel Vazquez Huesco (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                 4.43
41 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team      4.58
42 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team            
43 David Herrero Llorente (Spa) Karpin Galicia                        
44 Iker Camaño (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir                        5.06
45 Ángel Vallejo (Spa) Relax - Gam                                 5.49
46 Jesús Hernández (Spa) Relax - Gam                                  
47 Ruben Lobato Elvira (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir                   
48 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux                                
49 Joan Horrach (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                             6.39
50 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                          
51 Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                           
52 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Karpin Galicia                               
53 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC                                   
54 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Crédit Agricole                               
55 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic                        
56 Juan Olmo Menacho (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                        
57 José Ángel Gómez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir            
58 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2r Prévoyance                            8.58
59 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas                                  
60 Roy Sentjens (Ned) Predictor - Lotto                               
61 Renaud Dion (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                                  
62 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC                                    
63 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quickstep - Innergetic                    
64 Stephan Schreck (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                
65 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner                             
66 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner                               
67 Raúl García De Mateos (Spa) Relax - Gam                            
68 Vincent Jérôme (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                              
69 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir                    
70 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                          
71 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank                                      
72 Gustavo Domínguez (Spa) Karpin Galicia                             
73 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank                                        
74 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC                                   
75 Santiago Perez (Spa) Relax - Gam                                   
76 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Liquigas                                
77 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Française des Jeux                            
78 Francisco Jose Martinez (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                  
79 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Française des Jeux                           
80 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team CSC                               
81 Javier Megias Leal (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir                    
82 Santos González (Spa) Karpin Galicia                               
83 Addy Engels (Ned) Quickstep - Innergetic                           
84 Jose Ruiz Sanchez (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                    10.13
85 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre - Fondital                          11.19
86 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone       11.53
87 Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) T-Mobile Team                               
88 Inaki Isasi Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                       
89 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram                                       
90 Scott Davis (Aus) T-Mobile Team                                    
91 Inigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                          
92 Adam Hansen (Aus) T-Mobile Team                                    
93 Matej Jurco (Svk) Team Milram                                      
94 Manuel Ortega Ocana (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                      
95 José Luis Carrasco (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                       
96 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                               
97 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2r Prévoyance                            
98 Chris Horner (USA) Predictor - Lotto                               
99 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC                                       
100 Sebastiaan Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank                               
101 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                              
102 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone     14.53
103 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre - Fondital                            
104 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Team Milram                                  
105 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic                       
106 Jorge Garcia Marin (Spa) Relax - Gam                              
107 Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner                               
108 Nacor Burgos Rojo (Spa) Relax - Gam                               
109 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux                         
110 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Predictor - Lotto                         
111 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                           
112 Mickael Delage (Fra) Française des Jeux                           
113 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team            
114 Ian McLeod (RSA) Française des Jeux                               
115 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Crédit Agricole                           
116 Bert Grabsch (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                  
117 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone          
118 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre - Fondital                           
119 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas                                   
120 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas                                     
121 Francisco Terciado Sacedo (Spa) Relax - Gam                       
122 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team        
123 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram                             
124 Marco Velo (Ita) Team Milram                                      
125 José Antonio Lopez (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                      
126 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team          
127 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                
128 Serafín Martínez Acevedo (Spa) Karpin Galicia                     
129 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone            
130 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Bouygues Telecom                             
131 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram                                   
132 Davide Vigano (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic                        
133 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Gerolsteiner                                
134 Martin Müller (Ger) Team Milram                                   
135 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic                           
136 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank                                    
137 Jason McCartney (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team          
138 Rony Martias (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                               
139 Bart Dockx (Bel) Predictor - Lotto                                
140 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas                                   
141 Andreas Klier (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                 
142 David Loosli (Swi) Lampre - Fondital                              
143 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Bouygues Telecom                           
144 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank                                 
145 Tim Klinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                    
146 André Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                 
147 André Korff (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                   
148 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française des Jeux                          
149 Cyrille Monnerais (Fra) Française des Jeux                        
150 Ángel Gómez Gómez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir                    
151 Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                       
152 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas                                  
153 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre - Fondital                           
154 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Team Milram                                
155 Markus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                  
156 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                 
157 Morris Possoni (Ita) Lampre - Fondital                            
158 Damien Monier (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone             
159 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre - Fondital                           
160 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Lampre - Fondital                           
161 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Crédit Agricole                                
162 Alexandre Usov (Blr) AG2r Prévoyance                              
163 Jean-Marc Marino (Fra) Crédit Agricole                            
164 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic                        
165 Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spa) Rabobank                           16.05
166 Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                         
167 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank                                        
168 Stéphane Augé (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone             
169 Erki Pütsep (Est) Bouygues Telecom                            16.07
170 Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram                                18.55
171 Jesus Rosendo Prado (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                 21.08
172 Gustavo César (Spa) Karpin Galicia                                
173 José Vicente Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                        
174 Allan Davis (Aus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team              
175 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole                         21.10

DNF Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                          
DNF Bradley McGee (Aus) Française des Jeux                            
DNF Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Liquigas                                  
DNF Arkaitz Durán (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir