Former U23 world champion Alexey Lutsenko got close to a big win when he finished second in today's stage of the Vuelta a Espana. Having struggled in the heat, the Kazakh benefited from rainy and cold conditions.

“After a week at 40 degrees, it’s nice to race in the rain," Alexey Lutsenko said after stage 9 of the Vuelta a Espana. The young Kazakh rider finished second in the mountains and scored his first career World Tour podium.

As cool weather and eventually rain moved over the Vuelta, Lutsenko escaped into the day’s breakaway of nearly 30 riders before the first of three categorized climbs. On the day’s final mountain Lutsenko attacked the remains of his breakaway companions to chase a trio of riders who escaped earlier.

With 10.2km to go on the Valdelinares, Lutsenko easily rode back through all but two of the leaders and at the summit, the 2012 U23 World Champion was 45 seconds behind stage winner Winner Anacona of Colombia and five seconds ahead of Damiano Cunego of Italy.

Further back Fabio Aru found much support from his teammates after a flat tire before the penultimate climb. Tanel Kangert and Jacopo Guarnieri worked tirelessly to close the gap and bring Aru back to the group of General Classification leaders, and Aru on the final climb moved from eighth to seventh overall ahead of Monday’s first official rest day.