Vuelta a Espana 2016: Stage 9 Results, Latest Standings and Highlights

David de la Cruz won Stage 9 of the 2016 Vuelta a Espana on Sunday, after surging away from Dries Devenyns. Etixx-Quick-Step's De La Cruz ensured a first Spanish stage winner at the Vuelta.

He also took the red jersey from Movistar's Nairo Quintana. It was a day when the peloton were content to let the breakaway rule, particularly with so many climbs to negotiate. 

Here are the stage results, per the race's official site:

Here's what the general classification looks like:

A 12-rider breakaway formed with 90 kilometres left. It featured BMC's Dylan Teuns and Lotto-Soudal's Thomas De Gendt.

The break was a strong one but not strong enough to completely escape sight of the peloton. Just over 30 seconds separated the break from the bunch at this point.

Both groups had to deal with difficult conditions on the climb at Alto de San Isidro. Fog was a particular issue on the descent. The conditions meant risk-free riding for the leaders, with De Gendt still among them.

It wasn't until he was inside the final 50 kilometres that De Gendt made his attack. He'd soon gained almost 30 seconds on his chasers, while the peloton now trailed by over five minutes.

The Belgian was thriving on the climbs. Strong work on the ascents meant De Gendt was able to pull away from the break, per Cycling News:

However, similar work on the descents from Teuns soon put De Gendt back under pressure. More escapees joined Teuns to close more ground on the leader.

De Gendt found himself absorbed back into the break with around 35 kilometres to go. Still, he stayed near the head of the pack, as the break maintained its five-minute lead over the peloton.

Further back, Movistar seemed unconcerned by the pace of the break. This was despite the presence of red-jersey challenger De La Cruz, who was threatening Quintana's place in the GC. The former had a great chance to finish the day as the overall race leader.

Meanwhile, De Gendt was staying aggressive up in the break. Lotto Soudal confirmed his attempts to earn the blue polka-dot jersey:

At this point, he was fending off Cannondale's Simon Clarke and FDJ's Alexandre Geniez. The 12-rider break was soon back together for the final 25 kilometres, though, looking strong enough to stay up front all the way.

Peloton Watch detailed De Gendt's pace and the progress of the bunch:

Attacks now came thick and fast within the break, with De La Cruz making a move first. Devenyns and Jan Bakelants caught him. Clarke soon found himself dropped.

It was AG2R's Bakelants and IAM Cycling's Devenyns who became the new faces at the front. They owned a small lead, though, just 14 seconds.

The break threatened to come back together, but the bunch was also closing the gap, down to just four minutes. Perhaps the pressure from the peloton distracted the chasers, as Bakelants and Devenyns stretched their advantage to just over 30 seconds. However, they soon had Teuns for company.

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More attacks from De La Cruz and Devenyns helped them pull away from Bakelants. The duo held a 32-second lead over the chasers as they began the stage's final climb. 

Now part of nine chasers, De Gendt found one more reserve of energy to stage a final attack. Moreno Moser did likewise, but the leaders remained undeterred.

Yet, it was a superbly timed surge from De La Cruz that settled the stage. He left Devenyns looking on with envy as the Spaniard crossed the line.