Dennis wins Tour of Spain time trial, Yates adds to overall lead

TORRELAVEGA: Rohan Dennis won his second time trial at the Tour of Spain, while Simon Yates added a few more seconds to his lead over Alejandro Valverde.

Dennis dominated the 32km stage with a time of 37:57, nearly a minute faster than his closest competitors, Joseph Rosskopf and Jonathan Castroviejo.

“I tried to control the start and the finish and push in the middle section and in the end it worked out perfectly,” Dennis said.

“I knew I was on a good ride just looking at my power.”

Steven Kruijswijk was fourth-fastest and gained the most in the general classification by moving to third overall, 52 seconds behind Yates.

Nairo Quintana dropped to fourth and was more than a minute behind the pace.

“I’m happy with my performance. I extended my lead so as far as I’m concerned it was a very good ride,” Yates said.

“But we have a long way to go. I’m wary of the coming stages ... it’s still a long road to Madrid.

“I’m expecting some hard days. Our rivals are still very close.”

Valverde lost seven seconds to Yates ahead of the 157km 17th stage from Getxo to Balcon de Bizkaia in Basque country, where a tough climb will await riders.

“The upcoming stages also suit Yates,” Valverde said.

“We’ll go day by day, let’s see what comes out of it. I’m 38 years old now.”

Dennis, of the BMC Racing Team, was the only rider to maintain an average speed of more than 50kph on the lumpy route from Santillana del Mar to Torrelavega in northern Spain.