Can I fastboot flash a factory image without flashing the recovery? Factory Images

Using Nexus 9 as an example, the flash-all.bat contains:

fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-flounder-3.43.0.0114.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
ping -n 5 127.0.0.1 &gt;nul
fastboot -w update image-volantis-lrx21l.zip


image-volantis-lrx21l.zip contains recovery.img and the other images. Can I remove the recovery.img to avoid having to re-flash TWRP?

Do I need to use a different parameter for fastboot? ie. not update or -w?
According to the CyanogenMod Wiki, you should be able to flash each partition separately – if you've got an image for it. Quoting:


  Common fastboot commands
  fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
  fastboot flash boot boot.img
  fastboot flash cache cache.img
  fastboot flash userdata userdata.img
  fastboot flash system system.img


Following this list come instructions on Installing recovery using fastboot, which should apply (with the partition/file names replaced accordingly) be valid for the other partitions. Basically, with usb-debugging activated and your device connected to your computer (which has the appropriate tools installed):

# Boot the device into bootloader mode:
adb reboot bootloader

# Make sure fastboot can "see" it:
fastboot devices

# Flash the image:
fastboot flash recovery your_recovery_image.img