Chris Froome failed in his attempt to overhaul his Colombian rival Nairo Quintana on the penultimate stage of the Vuelta a España and will have to settle for second place for a third time in the race when it finishes today.
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Nairo Quintana was able to comfortably retain his healthy lead in the Vuelta a Espana as Magnus Cort claimed a landmark victory on stage 18.
Froome, who won bronze in the time trial at last month’s Olympic Games, sped through the 37-kilometer (22.9-mile) route from Javea and Calpe along the Mediterranean coast in 46 minutes, 33 seconds.
Froome had reduced Quintana’s lead by more than two minutes by winning Friday’s time trial to move to within 1:21.
Quintana’s Movistar teammate Jonathan Castroviejo was second across the line, 44 seconds behind Froome.
Froome, a three-time Tour victor, is set to finish the Vuelta as runner-up for a third time. I gave it a go and it was wonderful.
Bennett, who has been impressive since taking over mid-race as team leader for Dutch outfit LottoNL-Jumbo, earlier this week said he was prepared to sacrifice dropping down the field for a chance at a top 10 finish at one of three Grand Tours on the annual calendar.
His effort saw him comfortably win his second stage of this year’s race, which is part of the International Cycling Union (UCI) World Tour.
“We’ve got a way of racing and an approach and we’ll stick to that for now, and we’ll focus on the time trial”. “Quintana still has more than a minute of advantage, but we will keep fighting”.
“We’ll see (what happens) tomorrow and I’ll speak with my team-mates tonight”.
“He’s a great rider, and his team was at a very good level, and they always made trouble for me”.
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Froome launched six attacks on the climb to stage 20’s finish on Alto de Aitana in a bid to overturn his 1min 21sec deficit but was chased down by Quintana on each occasion.
