Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team riders Gianni Meersman and Zdenek Stybar finished 36th and 37th in the 163.7km Stage 9 ofLa Vuelta a España on Sunday.
The two OPQS riders finished 55" and 57" back from race winner Daniel Moreno (Katusha), who also took over the race lead by 1" by attacking on the final climb and winning solo. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) tried to bridge unsuccessfully, and finished 2nd and 3rd.
The race came back together just before the final climb after a rider attacked solo, and both Meersman and Stybar remained in a drastically reduced peloton.
OPQS looks next to a 186.8km Stage 10 on Monday. There is a Category 1 climb in the last kilometers, as well as a finishing HC climb.