Vielha is going to host for the third time a stage starting line of Spain’s Vuelta. Last time was during the 58th edition, when the state ended in Jaca.

This is the third mountain stage in a row with a third category ALTO DEL TUNEL DE VIELHA mountain pass located a few kilometres away from the departure line.

The winding run that encloses two second category mountain passes, COLL DE LA ESPINA and PUERTO DE LA FORADA, plus a first one, PUERTO DEL SERRABLO, mean this ninth stage will be quite hard. At this time, some riders that might have lost time in the previous stages might try to breakaway and possibly get first to the Huesca Province town of Sabiñanigo.

The stage end line has been set in Sabiñanigo six times but, since 1998, its people have not seen Spain’s Vuelta riders arriving on their streets.