Galdeano grabs win

Joseba Beloki retained the yellow jersey

Spain's Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano sprinted to victory in the ninth stage of the Tour of Spain.

He headed a 44-man leading pack to clinch the 179.2km (112-mile) leg between Logrono and Zaragoza.

Gonzalez de Galdeano stole a march on his rivals by launching his early attack as they jockeyed for position.

Opening up a 30-metre gap over his pursuers, he used his time-trial power to hold them off comfortably until he crossed the finish line.

The ONCE rider crossed the line in a time of 3 hours, 14 minutes, 52 seconds.

That gave him an average speed of over 55kph (34.4mph) for the stage, the fastest leg so far on this year's Vuelta.

The victory was Gonzalez de Galdeano's 10th of his career and the most prestigious since he took two stages in the 1999 Tour of Spain, the year when he finished second overall.

"I had believed that this year was lost for ONCE after the time trial at Torrelavega," he said.

"But we all regained confidence thanks to Joseba Beloki's performance yesterday on La Demanda, and after today's stage even more."

Gonzalez Galdeano's compatriot and teammate Beloki finished in the leading group and retained his gold jersey as the overall leader.

Monday is a rest day and the Tour resumes on Tuesday with a 168.4km (105.3-mile) stage between Sabadell and La Molina, the first of three mountain stages in the Pyrenees.

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Tour of Spain Stage Nine results:
1. Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Spa) ONCE, 3hr 14min 52sec
2. Sven Teutenberg (Ger) Festina
3. Biagio Conte (Ita) Saeco
4. Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Saeco
5. Danilo Hondo (Ger) Telekom
6. Angel Vicioso (Spa) Kelme
7. Eleuterio Anguita (Spa) Jazztel
8. David Millar (GB) Cofidis
9. Alberto Martinez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
10. Alberto Vinale (Ita) Alessio
11. Nacor Burgos (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada
12. Levi Leipheimer (US) US Postal
13. Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Alessio
14. Oscar Freire (Spa) Mapei
15. Joseba Beloki (Spa) ONCE
16. Klaus Moeller (Den) Milaneza-MSS
17. Angel Edo (Spa) Milaneza-MSS
18. Robert Hunter (SA) Lampre
19. Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Kelme
20. Igor Flores (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi, all same time

Overall standings:
1. Joseba Beloki (Spa) ONCE, 28hr 21min 9sec
2. Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Kelme, 14 seconds behind
3. Angel Casero (Spa) Festina, 51
4. Santiago Botero (Col) Kelme, 1:28
5. Levi Leipheimer (US) US Postal, 1:54
6. Juan Manuel Mercado (Spa) iBanesto.com, 2:00
7. David Plaza (Spa) Festina, 2:10
8. Roberto Heras (Spa) US Postal, 2:47
9. Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskadi-Euskaltel, 3:14
10. Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Spain) ONCE, 3:29
11. David Millar (GB) Cofidis, 3:50
12. Manuel Beltran (Spa) Mapei, 4:38
13. Aitor Osa (Spa) iBanesto.com, 4:46
14. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONCE, 5:00
15. Carlos Sastre (Spa) ONCE, 5:01
16. Jose Luis Rubiera (Spa) US Postal, 5:07
17. Jose Maria Jimenez (Spa) iBanesto.com, 5:36
18. Fernando Escartin (Spa) Team Coast, 6:21
19. Luis Perez (Spa) Festina, 6:41
20. Roberto Laiseka (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi, 6:55