Ben King triumphs again at La Vuelta as Simon Yates takes overall lead

New leader Yates finished two minutes 49 seconds behind King and has the slenderest of overall leads, with 2009 winner Valverde one second behind

Ben King celebrates his stage nine win as he crosses the finishing line (Getty)

US rider Ben King grabbed his second win at the Vuelta a Espana with a gutsy solo charge on the summit finish of Sunday’s ninth stage while Briton Simon Yates became the overall leader, one second ahead of Spaniard Alejandro Valverde.

Team Dimension Data rider King, 29, was part of an early breakaway group consisting of 11 riders, who at one point opened up a nine-and-a-half minute gap to the peloton.

He then broke free by dropping Spaniard Enric Mas shortly before the final climb in the ride from Talavera de la Reina to La Covatilla.

He held off a late challenge from Bauke Molemma to finish 48 seconds ahead of the Dutchman, collecting another summit victory after triumphing on stage four.

King is 18th overall, one place below Frenchman Rudy Molard who began the day wearing the leader’s red jersey but endured a woeful stage after being forced to fix a problem with his cleats early on.

New leader Yates finished two minutes 49 seconds behind King and has the slenderest of overall leads, with 2009 winner Valverde one second behind and 2016 champion Nairo Quintana 14 seconds back after coming fifth in the stage.

Monday is the first of two rest days, with the race starting up again on Tuesday with a 177km flat route from Salamanca to Fermoselle.

Reuters