Chris Froome took second place in tricky conditions on stage 11 at the Vuelta a Espana to extend his race lead out to over a minute.
The Brit hung tough in freezing conditions atop to the Calar Alto and was able to push beyond a number of his GC rivals, upping his lead margin to one minute and 19 seconds at the race’s halfway point.
Froome edged his way into second across the line to claim six bonus seconds, finishing alongside rivals Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) and Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb). The trio came in 14 second back on stage winner Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana), who accelerated clear on the steep final ramps.
“I’m very happy with the outcomes from today”, said Froome. “It was a very selective day for the GC. To finish second, I couldn’t ask for much more than that, other than stage victory, but when (Miguel Angel) Lopez went he was extremely strong.
“I figured for me the most important thing was to follow Vincenzo Nibali and stay with the favorites. Lopez was the most impressive today with his attack to win the stage, but otherwise I was more concentrated on staying with Nibali seeing that (Esteban) Chaves was already dropped and Alberto (Contador) was on the limit.”
