Etixx-Quick Step took another victory in the Vuelta a Espana. David De La Cruz was the strongest in the ninth stage and even took the red jersey. “We are all proud of David. We will try to defend his jersey as long as we can”, Styby said.
“The stage of today was hard with some climbs of second and third category, most of them in the final. The finish was on the Alto del Naranco. Our goal was to be in the breakaway. With David, if that was possible. And it worked out perfectly.”
Trek-Segafredo had noone in the front and tried to chase down the group. “But they were just too strong. Movistar took over in the final and came close, but the winner was in the front. And that was David. He won the stage and took the red jersey!”
“We still had one job to do in the peloton. Gianluca Brambilla wanted to sprint for place 12 and we brought him to the front of the last climb. He won the sprint easy with a second ahead on the rest. Tomorrow follows another hard stage and on Tuesday it’s time for our first restday.”