La Vuelta Stage 9 Predictions: At 6/1, we’re betting on the great Vine

The end of the first full week of La Vuelta 2025 on Sunday sees the peloton take on a bit of a hockey-stick stage, with the only categorised climb of the 195.5km route coming at the summit finish into the Valdezcaray ski station (live on TNT Sports 3 from 13:30 BST, highlights at 22:00). 

There are lumps and bumps along the way, so there could well be a break in the pack before the Cat 1 denouement as the riders go for it ahead of the first rest day. My La Vuelta Stage 9 predictions are below, with the potential for a breakaway at the front of the mind.

La Vuelta Betting Odds

The parcours for Sunday is interesting to say the least. Setting out from Alfaro, the riders will take on three uncategorised ascents in the opening 50 kilometres before the road largely flattens out.

It is in the final 13.2km that it becomes a real fight, with the climb to the Estacion de Esqui de Valdezcaray which has an average gradient of 5% and tops out at 1523 metres above sea level. There are sections % steep in parts.

The performances of Thursday and Friday will do a lot of the informing here, with two breakaway days having come back-to-back in the high mountains.

Jay Vine was a key figure in those two, winning into Pal on stage six after getting ahead of the peloton for 161km and then joining the breakaway for 141km the following day before dropping back into the pack.

Another man to consider is race favourite Jonas Vingegaard, who currently sits in second spot behind surprise leader Torstein Traeen.

While the Dane won’t feel in too much of a hurry to force his way back into the red jersey, especially given the extra end-of-day responsibilities that come with it, he may see this as an opportunity to eat into the 2:33 gap to the Norwegian Bahrain-Victorious rider.

Expect some cat-and-mouse shenanigans between Vingegaard, Joao Almeida and Giulio Ciccone as the three best-placed contenders.

Vingegaard is one of three riders priced at 6/1 for the stage win, alongside Vine and UAE Team Emirates’ Juan Ayuso. Having fallen out of GC contention on Thursday, Ayuso responded with a stirring stage victory on Friday and now has the luxury of being largely inconsequential to the leaders, which could give him leeway to retain an attack for the finish line.

Behind those three are a host of 20/1 shouts, including Almeida, Ciccone, David Gaudu and Britain’s Tom Pidcock for Q36.5.

Cycling Odds

Jay Vine @ 6/1

I like the way Vine rode on Thursday and Friday in the Pyrenees, and I reckon he can go for another attack here.

In 82nd place, he is 37:13 off red-jersey pace and 34:40 behind Vingegaard. That gives him the ability to get away without the GC contenders worrying too much about the effects further down the line.

And with UAE having taken the tape at three of the last four stages, they’re clearly looking to make an impact in more than just the General Classification.

Vine has the legs to go long, and while those early climbs are not much to write home about they are certainly steep enough to allow some of the more breakaway-inclined to have a go in the very real belief that they can make it stick.

If the Aussie gets away up the front, don’t be surprised to see him stay there.