BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Belgian cyclist Philippe Gilbert won the ninth stage of the Spanish Vuelta on Sunday, just in front of Joaquin Rodriguez of Spain.
Rodriguez extended his overall lead ahead of a key time trial in three days.
Racing up Barcelona’s Montjuic Olympic park, the two riders broke away from the peloton in the final kilometers before Gilbert surged past Rodriguez to win in 4 hours, 45 minutes, 28 seconds.
Rodriguez stretched his overall advantage to 53 seconds from Christopher Froome, while Alberto Contador finished 9 seconds behind Sunday to sit 1 minute back in the standings.
Monday is the first rest day of the three-week race. Froome and Contador will view Wednesday’s time trial as a chance to try and bridge the gap to Rodriguez.
