The 2009 Vuelta arrives at its halfway point with an interesting stage. It is possible that Wednesday 9th September will see a bunch sprint in the Murcian town of Caravaca de La Cruz. Nevertheless, the organizers have added an element of surprise to the stage.
The riders will set off from the city of Murcia en route to climb the Collado Bermejo which, with its 17 kilometers and 5.3% average gradient, is the most important mountain pass in the whole of the Murcia Region. The riders will cross the finish line for the first time at kilometre 125 of the stage. They must then climb Alto de Campo de San Juan (2nd category), which is sure to further sap the strength of the purist sprinters. The stage is extremely well-balanced in every aspect, including its overall length: 200 kilometres.
Previous editions: Murcia has hosted the stage starts on 25 occassions. Caravaca de La Cruz has only hosted a stage finish on one ocassion: during the 2004, when victory went to David Zabriske and all eyes were on Alejandro Valverde, who almost dropped out of the race following a spectacular crash. The Murcian rider was saved on that ocassion by the solidarity shown by the “peleton”.
