Froome’s time-trial victory extends his Vuelta cushion
Chris Froome tightened his grip on the overall lead at La Vuelta a Espana by coasting to victory in the stage 16 time trial from Circuito de Navarra to Logrono.
The British Team Sky rider, who is aiming to become the first person to win the Tour de France and La Vuelta in the same year since 1978, clocked 47 minutes exactly over the 40.2km course.
Froome’s time was almost a full minute faster than nearest rival Vincenzo Nibali, of Bahrain-merida, who was third.
With five stages left, Froome, pictured, leads Italian Nibali by one minute and 58 seconds in the race for the red jersey.
Froome said: “To extend my lead and to be in this position with four big days of racing left is obviously a great position to be in, but I am going to take it one day at a time. I’ve got a good buffer but the race is not over. I have to keep fighting every day now.”
Team Sunweb rider Wilco Kelderman, meanwhile, climbed up into the top three of the general classification standings after being closest to Froome in the time trial, some 29 seconds off the pace.
Russian Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-alpecin) is now fourth, 27 seconds back from Kelderman, as the battle for a podium place in Madrid intensifies, but Fabio Aru (Astana) looks out of contention after only managing 26th place in the time trial.
Veteran Spaniard Alberto Contador, the Trek-segafredo rider who is set to retire at the end of La Vuelta, moved into fifth place overall after his run of 47mins 59secs.
La Vuelta continues on Wednesday with stage 17 of 180.5km from Villadiego to Los Machucos, which includes another summit finish.
Meanwhile, two AG2R-LA Mondiale riders, Alexandre Geniez and Nico Denz, were withdrawn from the race before the time trial after footage showed them holding on to the team car on Sunday’s stage. A statement on the team’s official website read: “The AG2R-LA Mondiale team sincerely apologises to the organisers and the public for the unsportsmanlike behaviour of our riders.”