Vuelta a España stage 9 LIVE – Five man breakaway forms following breathless start

That's bad for Mads Pedersen, who only has a slender lead in the points classification, and could come under threat from the GC men now there are lots of mountainous stages coming up.

There's an intermedaite sprint coming up in about 5km. There are only points on offer for the first five riders, so are set to be all taken by the break with no sprint in the peloton.

Kuss is back in the peloton after his mechanical.

The gap between the leaders and peloton is coming down slowly but surely. It's not down to 1:45.

40KM TO GO

The pace being set by Lidl and Q36.5 is quick enough to string the peloton out in one long line.

Mechanical for Sepp Kuss, who is making his way back into the peloton.

Though it has ceased, the rain has left the roads looking dangerously wet. The riders will have to be careful, although there’s no big descents to have to navigate today.

It might not be raining at the moment, but looking at the sky suggests more showers are to come. More threatening clouds are looming over the peloton.

The gap remains steady, at just under two minutes.

50KM TO GO

Despite his attempts to get into the break earlier, this was never going to be a day for Mads Pedersen, who has, against expectations, gone winless so far at the Vuelta. He remains hopeful, though, and is eying up opportunities in the stages to come.

'All we can do is look ahead' – Mads Pedersen winless but still on the hunt at Vuelta a España

The peloton's brought the break a little closer, to 2:10. The break's chances are looking slim.

60KM TO GO

Michel Hessmann is representing Movistar in the break. The team have endured a difficult home Grand Tour so far, without a GC candidate and not getting close to a stage win yet. Hessmann will try to put that right today.

Almost as quickly as it began, the rain has now stopped. That was a heavy, but thankfully brief, shower.

The heavens have indeed opened, and it’s raining heavily on the riders.

The gap's remained the same for a while, at around 2:30.

70KM TO GO

The riders are currently ascending some steep roads on yet another undulation, an example of how this stage is more difficult than the official recognition of just the one categorised climb suggests.

Dark clouds are looming on the horizon. The heavens could open at some point during the day.

The highest ranked rider on GC in the break is Kevin Vermaerke, down in 40th at 17:29. Although a decent climber, he might have been more of a contender for the stage win on a punchier day.

The work from Q36.5 and Lidl-Trek has kept the five leaders to 2:35.

80KM TO GO

Nickolas Zukowsky is the Q36.5 rider helping with the chase, assisting Lidl’s pair of Ghebreigzabhier and Hoole.

Q36.5 have also put a man at the front of the peloton to help chase. Their leader Tom Pidcock is someone who would also be a favourite in the event of a sprint between a small group of favourites at the top of the summit finish.

Lidl-Trek are leading the peloton, with their ever-dependable workhorse Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier. This final climb looks ideal for their man Giulio Ciccone.

The break's lead has increased, up to 2:30. They will want to keep it growing to have a chance of winning the stage.

90KM TO GO

Juan Ayuso did not get into the break despite being active earlier, but is in the news as rumours about him transferring to a new team continue to circulate.

Rumours of Juan Ayuso's possible early exit from UAE Team Emirates-XRG re-emerge at Vuelta a España

Archie Ryan is an exciting name to see in the break. The 23-year-old has looked good on his Grand Tour debut, also getting into the break on stage 6 when he finished 9th, and has decent climbing credentials for the finish.

Pedersen and De Pestel were all smiles earlier despite not bridging up to the break.

Easily the most decorated rider in the break is Michał Kwiatkowski. On the Pole’s palmares are Tour de France stages, classic victories, and the World Championships - but never a stage at the Vuelta. He’s spent much of this race in a domestique role for sprinter Ben Turner, but has been given the freedom to chase personal success today.

The break aren't being given much leeway, with Lidl-Trek leading the peloton to keep them at 1:45.

110KM TO GO

The five men up the road.

Jonas Vingegaard was held up briefly by a mechanical, but is back in the bunch now.

The leaders have managed to grow their advantage a little more, to 2 minutes, but the peloton hasn’t sat up.

The break's lead hasn't grown any more in recent kilometers, plateauing at 1:45.

120KM TO GO

That pair is on a hiding to nothing, however, and have been brought back.

Or do we? Some riders aren’t content to give up the ghost yet - Mads Pedersen and Sander De Pestel have attacked out of the peloton.

At long last, we have our break of the day.

That’s it, the elastic has snapped - the break’s lead is up to over a minute and a half.

You can only just about make out the peloton in the background, as the break builds it's lead.

The five leaders are starting to make some gains. They’ve grown their lead to over 30 seconds.

This five-man group is giving it a good shot, but still can’t get much of a lead. Right now, they’re being kept at 20 seconds.

130KM TO GO

Vermaerke has made the juncture.

Kevin Vermaerke has attacked out of the peloton in an attempt to bridge up to the leaders.

The two chasers have caught the two leaders, but the peloton are right behind them.

Kwiatkowski and Ryan lead Hessmann and Slock by 10 seconds, and the peloton by 15 seconds. That's something of a gap, but it could all come back together yet again soon.

140KM TO GO

Slock and Hessmann have set off in pursuit of the two leaders.

More riders were chasing behind but are now back in the peloton.

That duo’s lead is growing - it’s now up to 25 seconds.

Kwiatkowski and Ryan have a gap of a few seconds.

The riders have spent most of the day going gradually uphill, and have just reached what is the highest point of the stage prior to the final climb. They will now descend for a little while.

150KM TO GO

For an idea of what it’s been like during this first hour of racing, here’s one of the many attempted moves, the pain on the riders’ faces illustrating just how relentless a start it’s been as attackers keep trying, and failing, to form a break.

More moves coming thick and fast, but nobody can make anything stick.

Here’s the group featuring Stefan Küng that tried to go clear earlier.

No, they won’t - they’ve been brought back by the peloton.

A couple of riders have a bit of a gap - can they succeed where others have failed?

160KM TO GO

The riders are passing through the feed zone, the race still not having settled down.

While we wait for a break to form, here’s what Matteo Jorgenson had to say about his Visma-Lease a Bike’s strategy at this Vuelta, and how they are waiting until the second and third weeks to strike.

'It's just a safer play' - Matteo Jorgenson dampens expectations of fireworks by Visma-Lease a Bike before second half of Vuelta a España

They've been racing for over half an hour, but still no sign of a break forming.

170KM TO GO

Still the race remains together, no attacks succeeding in going clear since that 4man move.

All those attackers are bruoght back, and the race is as you were.

Three more riders are chasing behind trying to join them.

We now have 4 riders up the road - Kung, Labrosse, Segaert and Slot. They've only got a lead of about 10 seconds though.

180KM TO GO

Three riders have a small gap, but the peloton is bearing down on them.

Still no break has formed. The road is going uphill, so the terrain is conducive to moves going away, but none have managed to so far.

The race is still all together.

190KM TO GO

Now we have some action, with some riders trying to go clear, but they've been brought back.

No sign yet of a break going clear. It’s been a surprisingly subdued start so far.

It’s a warm day out there, with the temperature at 28 degrees.

And they're off!

OFFICIAL START

We're just a few minutes away from the official start. Some riders will be bracing themselves to make an early move, in what could be a competitive battle to get into the day's break.

The scene at the start.

In fact, with the exception of the finish, there isn’t a single categorised climb all day.

While the stage finishes with a long category one climb, the roads before it are undulating rather than hilly, meaning non-climbers could get into the day’s break.

The riders are on the move now, making their way through the neutralised zone.

For more about today’s parcours and its finish at Valdezcaray, be sure to read our stage preview.

Vuelta a España 2025 stage 9 preview - Summit finish favours breakaway

Here's a reminder of what happened yesterday, if you missed it:

Vuelta a España stage 8: Jasper Philipsen claims second stage victory in chaotic sprint

It wasn't without drama, of course...

'It's painful' – Narrow loss followed by sprint relegation brings double heartbreak for teary Elia Viviani at Vuelta a España

On the cards today is another summit finish.

Climbing up to the ski station at Valdezcaray, the final ascent is 13.3km long with an average 5.2% gradient.

Could this be the end of Torstein Træen's time in red? With the nine riders behind him only separated by a handful of seconds, we're certainly expecting some kind of GC action today.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of stage 9 of the Vuelta a España! We'll be keeping you across everything that happens during the stage.