A crash early in stage nine of the Vuelta a España, finishing atop the Cumbre del Sol (Poble Nou de Benitatxell) on Sunday, added concerns to yesterday's incident suffered by José Joaquín Rojas en route to Murcia, which the Spaniard keeps recovering from, as the main favourites were again surprised by Dutchman Tom Dumoulin (TGA), who took the stage and got back into the lead of the Spanish Grand Tour.

A pile-up after 30km split the peloton and took Giovanni Visconti and Alejandro Valverde down. While the Italian, with wounds in his right ankle, completed the stage with no troubles after doing some good teamwork, the Spaniard, with an imflammated left-hand collarbone and bruises over his arm, made an enormous effort to cross the line in 7th place, 26" behind the winner, in serious pain. Fortunately, a control made by the Movistar Team's doctor, Jesús Hoyos, ruled out any fractures and confirmed a left shoulder contusion with bruises and a hematoma, that will still allow him to ride on yet with reduced mobility of his arm.

In turn, Nairo Quintana fought to keep the pace on a climb less suited to his characteristics, finishing in a fine sixth, 19" down. Today's result takes both GC references from the Movistar Team to sixth and seventh overall, as places two to eight are just 21" apart - with Dumoulin a minute ahead of the rest. The Vuelta will head to Castellón on Monday, via the Desierto de las Palmas, before enjoying its first rest day in Andorra, Tuesday.

"I'm not one who likes to make up excuses, but after the crash I really thought it would turn out way worse for me, that I would even have to retire," Valverde said immediately after the finish. "I'll undergo medical checks as soon as I get down this hill, because my shoulder is so inflammated. I don't think my collarbone is broken, because I wouldn't have been able to get on my bike again if it happened, but to be honest, it hurts really much, like having a knife stuck into it. 

"I did everything I could to stay with the favourites, trying to anticipate the attack on the last climb to test how my legs were - I didn't feel them really well during the first ascent - and the team, which I thank for all they did for me, was splendid. It was difficult to aspire to a better result in such conditions, but I'm happy because I didn't lose much time - I just hope the injuries after the crash evolve well.

"I'm happy, I have not given up much time and now I will have radios to see if there's something wrong. I’m not one to make excuses but we now need to evaluate the situation. We know how Froome rides, he always does the same. He hangs on, then comes, then goes, it is his way of racing. "

"This was one of the most difficult uphill finishes for me in this race, with short, steep slopes where specialists like Joaquim Rodríguez are really strong," Quintana said. "For me it's a matter of defending myself as good as I can (smiles). Being a rouleur and an excellent time trialist, Dumoulin is really surprising us and showing himself as a serious contender. There's still a lot . We have seen Froome very strong, Chaves is very strong and don't rule Purito out; Aru also ... we have to wait until Andorra, where possibly more things will be defined."