Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) proved the strongest of a 17-man group to stake biggest win of his career at the Ermita Santa Lucia, in Stage 5 of La Vuelta.
Froome crossed the line in 14th place in the wheel of Alberto Contador some four and half minutes after Lutsenko.
Three riders had started the day just two seconds behind Froome but all lost time.
Tejay van Garderen moved up to second at 10 seconds after coming in just eight seconds behind Froome while Colombian Esteban Chaves is third at 11sec after crossing the line alongside the British leader.
But former winners Vincenzo Nibali and Fabio Aru both lost time to now sit sixth and seventh respectively at 36sec and 49sec. David De La Cruz started the day second but dropped to fifth at 23sec.
Despite winning a fourth Tour just over a month ago, Froome showed no signs of tiredness as his Sky team set the pace on the steep run-in to the finish, allowing him to gain time on many overall rivals.
“I think if you had said at the beginning of the stage this would be the situation at the finish, I would have definitely have signed to agree to that,” admitted Froome.
“Looking at the time gaps now, the general classification is definitely taking a bit more shape.
“I’m really glad to have come through from the Tour in the shape that I hoped to be in for the start of the Vuelta.”
Vuelta a Espana 2017 – stage 5 results (Benicàssim – Alcossebre):
| 1 | Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) | 4:24:58 |
| 2 | Merhawi Kudus (Dimension Data) | +42” |
| 3 | Marc Soler (Movistar) | +56” |
| 4 | Matej Mohoric (UAE Team Emirates) | +01’11” |
| 5 | Alexis Gougeard (AG2R) | +01’24” |
| 6 | Marco Haller (Katusha-Alpecin) | +01’37” |
| 7 | Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) | +01’40” |
| 8 | Jetse Bol (Manzana Postobon) | +02’04” |
| 9 | Matvey Mamykin (Katusha-Alpecin) | +02’18” |
| 10 | Jérémy Maison (FDJ) | +02’31” |
| 11 | Michel Kreder (Aqua Blue Sport) | +03’20” |
| 12 | Davide Villella (Cannondale-Drapac) | +04’00” |
| 13 | Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) | +04’31” |
| 14 | Chris Froome (Team Sky) | ,, |
| 15 | Michael Woods (Cannondale-Drapac) | ,, |
| 16 | Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) | ,, |
| 17 | Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) | +04’39” |
| 18 | Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) | +04’42” |
| 19 | Nicolas Roche (BMC) | ,, |
| 20 | Fabio Aru (Astana) | ,, |
General classification after stage 5:
| 1 | Chris Froome (Team Sky) | 18:07:10 |
| 2 | Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) | +10” |
| 3 | Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) | +11” |
| 4 | Nicolas Roche (BMC) | +13” |
| 5 | David De La Cruz (Quick-Step Floors) | +23” |
| 6 | Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) | +36” |
| 7 | Fabio Aru (Astana) | +49” |
| 8 | Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) | +50” |
| 9 | Simon Yates (Orica-Scott) | +01’09” |
| 10 | Michael Woods (Cannondale-Drapac) | +01’13” |
| 11 | Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) | +01’28” |
| 12 | Romain Bardet (AG2R) | +01’37” |
| 13 | Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) | +01’40” |
| 14 | Warren Barguil (Team Sunweb) | +01’43” |
| 15 | Sam Oomen (Team Sunweb) | +01’53” |
| 16 | Carlos Betancur (Movistar) | +01’56” |
| 17 | Igor Anton (Dimension Data) | +02’09” |
| 18 | Jack Haig (Orica-Scott) | +02’19” |
| 19 | Wout Poels (Team Sky) | +02’23” |
| 20 | Jetse Bol (Manzana Postobon) | +02’29” |
