Froome sees lead cut after taking a tumble
CHRIS FROOME survived a mechanical problem and a crash to keep hold of his Red Jersey in the Vuelta but his advantage was cut to 59 seconds.
The Team Sky leader dropped 20 seconds to closest challenger Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida).
Trek-Segafredo’s Alberto Contador, ninth in the GC standings, gained 22 seconds on Nibali and the rest of the general classification contenders.
Lotto Soudal’s Tomasz Marczynski attacked on the final descent to take victory on stage 12 ahead of Omar Fraile (Team Dimension Data) and Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Movistar).
Contador and Nicolas Roche (BMC) attacked on the final climb, with the Spaniard enjoying an advantage of 20 seconds from the Team Sky-led peloton.
But on the descent into Antequera, Froome suffered a mechanical problem and, after switching bikes, tumbled as he took a corner. Sky dropped Wout Poels and Mikel Nieve back to help and the pair managed to keep the Briton in red.
Sky’s line-up for the Tour of Britain, which begins on Sunday, includes Welshman Geraint Thomas, in action for the time since a crash in the Tour de France.
Mark Cavendish is also back after his high-speed tumble at the Tour, in which he broke his shoulder.
FORMER world road champion Lizzie Deignan could miss this year’s championships in Norway later this month after surgery to remove her appendix.