Monday 28 August 2017 13:02, UK
Chris Froome strengthened his grip on La Vuelta by winning stage nine ahead of nearest rival Esteban Chaves at Cumbre del Sol.
The Briton attacked with 500 metres to go of the steeply uphill finish and looked to have built a decisive gap, only for Chaves to dig deep and get back onto Froome's back wheel.
However, the Team Sky rider was able to accelerate again and pulled clear to win by four seconds and extend his lead over Chaves (Orica-Scott) in the general classification to 36 seconds.
After the last survivor of an initial 10-man breakaway was finally caught by the peloton with six kilometres remaining, Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale) twice tried to escape from the bunch on the final climb.
But Froome refused to panic and sat calmly behind team-mate Mikel Nieve at the front of the group containing the title contenders, none of whom were able to overtake.
The four-time Tour de France winner eventually hit the front with 500m remaining and was able to respond when Chaves briefly caught him with 200m to go to maintain a firm grip on the leader's red jersey.
"I put everything I had into that last couple of hundred metres," said Froome after his first stage win of 2017. "I was determined that they weren't going to catch me.
"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."
Monday is a rest day before stage 10 sees the riders tackle the 164.8km from Caravaca to El Pozo.
