Chris Froome still has one more mountain to climb, both literally and figuratively, but he gave himself a fighting chance of winning La Vuelta a Espana with a dominant display to win the time trial on Stage 19.
Heading into the stage 3mins37 behind race leader Nairo Quintana, Froome was in a different league over the 37km between Xabia and Calp, finishing 44 seconds clear of second-placed Jonathan Castroviejo.
But the real interest was in how much time Froome could take off Castroviejo’s Colombian teammate Quintana, and in the end the diminutive climber lost 2mins16 seconds as he finished the stage in 11th.
That leaves Froome with 1min21 to overhaul on Stage 20, a mountain-top finish in Alto de Aitana, a 20km-climb which will decide the overall winner.
And with just two days of racing left this season, including the ceremonial Stage 21 into Madrid, Froome is desperate to sign off on a high, even if he admits that catching Quintana will take a massive effort.
“I gave the time trial everything I had. I don’t think there’s much more I could have done today. I left it all out on the road,” he said.
“It’s my last race of the year and I’m happy to still be in good condition.
“There’s still one more really tough day of racing tomorrow. Let’s see. Of course Quintana still has more than one minute of an advantage. We’re going to keep fighting all the way.
“We’ll see (what happens) tomorrow and I’ll speak with my team-mates tonight. Quintana with Movistar has a really good team around him and it’s going to be difficult to beat him.”