(AP) – Chris Froome effectively sealed his first Vuelta title after maintaining the overall lead on the final competitive stage of the grand tour on Saturday.
Froome increased his advantage over Vincenzo Nibali through the rainy 117.5-kilometer mountainous ride in stage 20 from Corvera de Asturias to a grueling summit finish at the Alto de l’Angliru.
Froome has finished the Vuelta as runner-up on three occasions. He came in behind Juanjo Cobo in 2011, Alberto Contador in 2014 and Nairo Quintana last year.
Barring a mishap or accident on Sunday’s ceremonial arrival in Madrid, Froome will become only the third rider to complete the Tour-Vuelta double in the same season. Jacques Anquetil (1963) and Bernard Hinault (1978) achieved the feat when the Vuelta was still held in the spring before the Tour.
Alberto Contador, who will retire after the race, won Saturday’s stage with an attack from distance to put a fine finish to his career that has included seven grand tour wins, including three Vuelta titles.
Vuelta a Espana 2017 – stage 20 results (Corvera de Asturias – Alto de L’Angliru):
| 1 | Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) | 4:48:52 |
| 2 | Wout Poels (Team Sky) | +17” |
| 3 | Chris Froome (Team Sky) | ,, |
| 4 | Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) | +35” |
| 5 | Franco Pellizotti (Bahrain Merida) | +51” |
| 6 | Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) | ,, |
| 7 | Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNl-Jumbo) | ,, |
| 8 | Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) | +01’11” |
| 9 | Romain Bardet (AG2R) | +01’25” |
| 10 | Michael Woods (Cannondale-Drapac) | +01’36” |
| 11 | Richard Carapaz (Movistar) | +01’46” |
| 12 | Mike Nieve (Team Sky) | +02’15” |
| 13 | Gianni Moscon (Team Sky) | +03’16” |
| 14 | Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) | +03’43” |
| 15 | Louis Meintjes (UAE Team Emirates) | +03’56” |
| 16 | Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) | ,, |
| 17 | Enric Mas (Quick-Step Floors) | ,, |
| 18 | Marc Soler (Movistar) | ,, |
| 19 | Diego Rosa (Team Sky) | +04’12” |
| 20 | Simon Yates (Orica-Scott) | +04’18” |
General classification after stage 20:
| 1 | Chris Froome (Team Sky) | 79:23:37 |
| 2 | Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) | +02’15” |
| 3 | Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) | +02’51” |
| 4 | Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) | +03’11” |
| 5 | Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) | +03’15” |
| 6 | Wout Poels (Team Sky) | +06’45” |
| 7 | Michael Woods (Cannondale-Drapac) | +08’16” |
| 8 | Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) | +08’59” |
| 9 | Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNl-Jumbo) | +11’04” |
| 10 | Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) | +15’36” |
| 11 | Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) | +16’32” |
| 12 | Louis Meintjes (UAE Team Emirates) | +17’15” |
| 13 | Fabio Aru (Astana) | +21’27” |
| 14 | Nicolas Roche (BMC) | +21’46” |
| 15 | Sergio Padilla (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) | +22’45” |
| 16 | Mikel Nieve (Team Sky) | +27’16” |
| 17 | Romain Bardet (AG2R) | +31’07” |
| 18 | Daniel Moreno (Movistar) | +42’02” |
| 19 | Sander Armee (Lotto Soudal) | +58’47” |
| 20 | Darwin Atapuma (UAE Team Emirates) | +1h02’44” |
