UPDATE: Since this story was published, Sam Bennett has been relegated in the result and has lost his stage win - read about it by following this link
Sam Bennett has taken another win on La Vuelta, his second victory on this Grand Tour and Ireland's third.
Dan Martin opened the proceedings for Ireland on stage 3, with a brilliant uphill win, with Bennett sprinting in the next day to make it a double Irish.
And at the end of today's stage 9, it was the Irish Deceuninck-QuickStep rider who again proved unbeatable.
The 30-year-old Carrick-on-Suir rider prevailed in a big bunch finish into Aguilar de Campoo after 158km of racing which was marked by an early breakaway that was swept up at will with more than 20km to go.
While today's stage was an opportunity for the general classification men and their team mates to recover after the recent very hard days in the mountains in wet conditions, the finale was anything but relaxed.
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Bora-hansgrohe were very active on the front in the closing kilometres as they tried to set up Pascal Ackermann for the finish as Bennett's Deceuninck-QuickStep hung back a little.
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However, at a sharp left hander with 1.3km to go, Deceuninck-QuickStep were much more visible near the front, just behind the Bora-hansgrohe train, with UAE Team Emirates also trying to muscle in.
However, Bennett came out of the chaos like a bullet and once he kicked he always looked most likely to win, though Ackermann pushed him very close on the line.
Gerben Thijssen,
a 22-year-old Belgian riding for Lotto Soudal, took 3rd place in what was a close finish.
More to come.
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