Lastras first in stage nine

After a nightmarish start for the ibanesto.com squad, Spain's Pablo Lastras restored some team honour in claiming stage nine of the Vuelta a Espana on Sunday. Oscar Sevilla (Kelme) continues his reign in 'oro' in the overall standings.

RE-LIVE: Vuelta stage nine as it happened!

When ibanesto.com lost one of their top riders Francesco Mancebo during stage nine, it didn't look like Sunday would be the Spanish team's day. However, a gutsy late attack by Lastras on a descent in the final eight kilometres changed his squad's fortune.

Looking both relieved and ecstatic when he crossed the finish line alone in two hours 48 minutes and 52 seconds, Lastras raised his arms to celebrate his first victory of the season.

Finishing second was fellow Spaniard Luis Perez (Team Coast) at 14" with Switzerland's Fabian Jeker (Milaneza) taking third with the same time.

The course, a fairly laid-back, 130.2-km-long ride in and around Cordoba, was not as easy as many had expected. Despite a challenging time-trial coming up on Monday's programme, riders weren't thinking about taking it easy. Pedalling ferociously, the pace went as high as 48km/hour in the 2002 Vuelta's shortest stage so far.

With mainly flat roads except for a category two climb on the Alto de San Jerónimo towards the end, stage nine claimed its fair share of victims, including a very tired and discouraged Mancebo and Ricardo Valdez (Jazztel), who reportedly broke his hip following a dangerous crash. Another notable casuality was world champion Oscar Freire (Mapei), who withdrew after 35 kilometres because of knee pain.

The top overall standings once again remain unchanged, with Sevilla occupying top spot for the fourth consecutive stage. The Spaniard leads Alexandre Vinokourov (Telekom) by 14" and Aitor Gonzalez (Kelme) by 41".

The overall standings are expected to alter after Monday's 36.5-km-long individual time trial, also in Cordoba. The Spanish town last hosted a Vuelta time trial in 1997, when Sevilla's team mate Santiago Botero (Kelme) ran away with the victory.