Vuelta a Espana: Chris Froome insists lead can still change hands
Monday 5 September 2016 20:39, UK
Chris Froome insists the race for overall victory at the Vuelta a Espana can change in an instant.
The Team Sky rider lies 3min 37sec adrift of race leader Nairo Quintana in second overall with two summit finishes, a 37km individual time trial and two sprint stages remaining.
Steven Kruijswijk looked similarly in control of May's Giro d'Italia when he went into the final three stages leading by three minutes, but he then suffered a heavy crash and ended the race 1min 50sec down in fourth.
Froome, who lost 2min 43sec to Quintana on stage 14, said: "I'm still in second place, which obviously I'm happy about, but I am a lot further back than I was going into yesterday, so obviously that was a big blow.
"But that's cycling. Things can change in the blink of an eye and I've got to keep fighting to the end. Of course, I'm not just going to give up now.
"It's less possible than it was before, but it doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying."
The Vuelta pauses for its second rest day on Tuesday but resumes on Wednesday with a 177.5km 17th stage ending with a summit finish at Camins del Penygolosa in Llucena. Find out more about the route in our race guide and follow the action with our live blog from 1pm BST.
