Sunday 30 August – Vuelta a España stage 9: La Vila Joiosa/Villajoyosa → Alto de Aitana (187.4 km)

Route

The ninth stage of the Vuelta a España 2026 is the toughest day before the rest day. The peloton departs from La Vila Joiosa/Villajoyosa and rides 187.4 kilometres to the finish atop the Alto de Aitana. Along the way there is more than 5,100 metres of climbing, spread over six categorised climbs.

Immediately after the start the road climbs 3.1 kilometres at 4.4%, followed by an uncategorised section of 1.7 kilometres at 6.3% and the Coll de Rates (1.5 km at 6.2%). After Callosa d'en Sarrià, the approach to the first categorised climb begins at km 29.5: the Puerto de Tárbena (7.2 km at 5.4%), with the summit at km 36.7. After Orba (km 55.5), the Puerto El Miserat begins at km 68.7 (5.2 km at 10.0%), the steepest climb of the day in terms of gradient, with the summit at km 73.9. At km 86.6 the Port de Tollos begins (4.1 km at 5.8%, summit at km 90.7), followed by the Puerto de Tudons (7.0 km at 5.3%, starting at km 114.8, summit at km 121.8).

Immediately after the descent from the Tudons comes the Puerto de Benifallim (4.8 km at 5.8%), with the summit 47.5 kilometres from the finish. After that the road is largely downhill until the foot of the final climb. The road to the line is the Alto de Aitana: a total of 22 kilometres at 5.8%, on a road that is normally closed to traffic because it runs through military terrain. From the sixth kilometre before the summit, the gradient barely drops below 8%, with a peak of 9.4% at that point.

Final kilometres

The final climb to the Alto de Aitana is 22 kilometres long and averages 5.8%. From the sixth kilometre before the finish, the gradient hovers around 8 to 9%, with a peak of 9.4% at that point. The final kilometres run over a road that is normally closed to the public, on military terrain. The bonus sprint at the Puerto de Benifallim (47.5 km from the finish) awards 6, 4 and 2 seconds to the first three riders; at the finish line those are 10, 6 and 4 seconds.

Recent editions

The Alto de Aitana has been a Vuelta finish four times before. 2001 – Klaus Michael Møller (Milaneza-MSS). 2004 – Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval-Prodir). 2009 – Damiano Cunego (Lampre-NGC). 2016 – Pierre Latour (AG2R La Mondiale), solo, the last time the Vuelta finished here, ten years ago.

Scenarios

A stage for the climbers. The tough finale to the Alto de Aitana, with a final climb of 22 kilometres, is a day for the grand tour climbers.

A day for the general classification riders. The last tough day before the rest day could widen the gaps further.

Early breakaways? The attacking terrain in the first half of the stage, with several uncategorised climbs, offers room for a longer breakaway before the favourites take over the race on the Miserat and the Tudons.

Local

Villajoyosa, the start town, is a fishing town on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante. None of the current Vuelta participants was born in the immediate region. The finish on the Alto de Aitana sits at an altitude of 1,543 metres, on a road that is normally closed to traffic because it runs through military terrain.

Weather forecast

On Sunday, mostly sunny weather is expected on the Alto de Aitana, with a high of 23.6°C and a low of 15.4°C. No precipitation is expected. In the final 50 kilometres there will be a southerly wind with gusts of up to 11.7 km/h, which will have little impact on the race.

TV guide

• Eurosport 1 — 12:00
• HBO Max — 12:00
• Sporza online — 12:10
• VRT Canvas — 12:10