Pierre-Roger Latour of France edged Darwin Atapuma to win the 193.2-kilometer (120-mile) stage traversing three category-two ascents from Benidorm to a special-category finish at the Alto de Aitana summit.
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German duo of Roodiger Selish and Nikias Arndt ended their day in 2nd and 3rd places respectively.
Chris Froome started the day 3mins 37secs behind Nairo Quintana.
“Froome was flying”, Quintana told Spanish TVE.
Three-time Vuelta victor Alberto Contador moved up to third overall by finishing eighth on the day to leapfrog Esteban Chaves. “You have to think it’s possible and you play your cards thinking “right, I’m going to do this”.
Quintana had expressed the need to have built a substantial lead over the Tour de France victor prior to the time trial and his view proved an accurate one, with his general classification rival reigniting what appeared to be a fading challenge.
But the real interest was in how much time Froome could take off Castroviejo’s Colombian teammate Quintana, and in the end the diminutive climber lost 2mins16 seconds as he finished the stage in 11.
Chris Froome will not wave the white flag, but says that Team Sky will not try any “crazy tactics” to upset Vuelta a España race leader Nairo Quintana (Movistar) with only four days left until the race finish in Madrid.
“He has more than one minute, but we are going to keep on fighting, so we will see what happens tomorrow”.
“It’s my last race of the year and I’m happy to still be in good condition”.
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The time trial, run in hot, humid weather along Mediterranean coastal roads between the two tourist resorts, suited the Rio Olympic bronze medallist, including a lengthy drag uphill for some 6km in the first half and an undulating descent calling for constant changes of rhythm. Froome ahead of Contador and Quintana while Chaves was quickly losing time.
