Froome wins stage nine to strengthen grip on Vuelta a Espana

London, August 28: Chris Froome strengthened his grip on the Vuelta a Espana by claiming the ninth stage on a sprint finish into Cumbre del Sol.

The Team Sky rider, looking to become just the third man behind Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault to win the Vuelta in the same year as the Tour de France, edged out closest overall challenger Esteban Chaves, with Michael Woods third.

Froome completed the 176.3 km stage from Orihuela in 4:07:13, four seconds ahead of Orica-Scott's Chaves, with Woods, riding for the cash-strapped Cannondale-Drapac, a further second adrift.

It was dominant display from Froome, who pulled away in the final kilometre, a steep climb up the Puig Llorenca. Chaves and Woods tried to rein him in but to no avail as the race leader extended his lead at the top of the general classification to 36 seconds from Chaves.

BMC Racing Team's Nicolas Roche is third overall, 0:01:05 behind Froome.

That winning feeling Great work @chrisfroome on a big @lavuelta stage victory #LV2017 pic.twitter.com/k3eLThLSEs

— Team Sky (@TeamSky) August 27, 2017

Sunday was also notable for a display of unity from Cannondale-Drapac, whose riders discovered the day before that they had all been released from their contractual obligations for 2018 due to financial uncertainty.

The American WorldTour team were prominent in a long breakaway and led the peloton until the final climb when Froome took centre stage.

GOOD DAY/BAD DAY

Froome has enjoyed another strong summer, but this represented the Brit's first Grand Tour stage win of the year.

"I put everything I had into that last couple of hundred metres. I was determined that they weren't going to catch me," he said.

"I'm really, really happy to get the victory. The team did a brilliant job on that final climb and set such a good tempo.

"After a week we couldn't have asked to be in a better position. It's been a fantastic start to the Vuelta. The legs are feeling great. I've been to the Vuelta so many times, trying to target this race, and so far it feels like everything is going really well."

It was not such a good day for Alberto Contador, however, with the Spaniard left wanting in the shake-up to slip 03:32 behind Froome.

The Trek-Segafredo man said: "I was riding with too big a gear when Froome attacked and it was really hard to make the jump. He was very strong. There are good days and bad days and maybe the legs came a little bit short to fight for the victory.

"Froome and his team are proving to be really strong, let's see if they can keep up until Madrid. To win La Vuelta isn't impossible, but it's difficult. I'll enjoy day by day, without pressure."

STAGE RESULT

1. Chris Froome (Team Sky) 4:07:13 2. Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) +0.04 3. Michael Woods (Cannondale-Drapac) +0.05 4. Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb) +0.08 5. Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha Alpecin) +0.08

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Chris Froome (Team Sky) 36:33:16 2. Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) +0.36 3. Nicolas Roche (BMC Racing) +01:05

Así va la general:
@chrisfroome
@estecharu
🇮🇪 @nicholasroche https://t.co/BLfFuT4jaj#LV2017 pic.twitter.com/AEnkZS7Ejv

— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) August 27, 2017

POINTS CLASSIFCIATION

1. Chris Froome (Team Sky) 55 pts 2. Matteo Trentin (Quick-Step Floors) 49 pts 3. Pawel Poljanski (Bora-Hansgrohe) 44 pts

KING OF THE MOUNTAINS

1. Davide Villella (Cannondale-Drapac) 38 pts 2. Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) 17 pts 3. Chris Froome (Team Sky) 15 pts

UP NEXT…

Monday is a rest day before the race resumes on Tuesday with the 171-kilometre ride from Caravaca Jubilar to ElPozo Alimentacion that culminates with the climb up the Collado Bermejo.

Source: OPTA