Simon Yates remains well placed to take his first Grand Tour title as he retained the red jersey despite losing time to nearest rival Alejandro Valverde in a foggy stage 17 of La Vuelta.
The Mancunian saw his lead at the top of the general classification standings trimmed to 25 seconds after he had yesterday extended it to 33 thanks to an impressive time trial.
With just four days of racing to go, Yates will be looking to improve upon his finish in the Giro d’Italia earlier this year, where he led until the antepenultimate stage but for his compatriot Chris Froome to snatch overall victory.
Yates’ brother Adam led a breakaway from the general classification group – trailing eventual winner Michael Woods’ group – with just three kilometres of gruelling climbing to go, dropping contender Nairo Quintana in the process.
But it was Valverde – winner of the Vuelta in 2009 - who pounced on the Yates’ move, finding one final burst to stretch away from the leader as the line approached, gaining what could prove to be a vital eight seconds.
With that, Quintana – himself a two-time Grand Tour winner – fell out of the top five after losing one minute, while an assured ride from home favourite Enric Mas saw him climb to third in the general classification.
Up in front it was the Canadian Woods who claimed the stage victory after he burst for the line ahead of Dylan Teuns.
Stage 18 takes place on Thursday, with the riders facing a 180km route from Ejea de los Caballeros to Lleida.