An untouchable Chris Froome blew away the rest of the field to take victory on the stage 16 time trial at the Vuelta a Espana and extend his overall lead.
Froome, looking to become only the third rider to win both the Tour de France and the Vuelta in the same year, completed the 40.2km course in 47:00 with a 29s winning margin over his nearest competitor Wilko Kelderman.
Victory in Logrono marks the Team Sky rider’s second of the Vuelta so far, having triumphed on stage nine in the first summit finish of the race.
And with only five stages remaining, Froome’s time trial performance saw him increase his advantage in the general classification to one minute and 58 seconds, with Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali falling away after a time 57s slower than the Brit’s.
Yet while elated to have extended his lead, Froome isn’t getting too carried away, stressing the importance of taking each stage as it comes.
“I was just riding at the speed that I felt best. Coming into the last six or seven kilometres I found out that I was on track to fight for the stage,” he said.
“It was a really big relief and obviously I’m super happy to be in this position, and to extend my lead now with four days of big racing left.
“I’m just going to take it one day at a time, but for today I’d just like to say a massive thank you to the support team at Team Sky.
“It’s a huge part of being able to do what I’m able to do – that support structure and having everything there to focus on the job at hand.”
On Wednesday, Froome will tackle the 180.5km stage 17 from Villadiego to Los Machucos, one of several tests still to come en route to Madrid, including Saturday’s summit finish on the Alto de l’Angliru.
And Froome is only too aware of the challenges that lie in wait, but he’s determined to fight all the way to the finish line in Madrid, come Sunday.
“It’s a great position to be in and a good buffer, but the race isn’t over,” he said.
“We’re just going to have to keep fighting every day now and get one day closer to Madrid.
“[Wednesday] is going to be absolutely brutal. Los Machucos from what I can see is a wall. It’s going to be a big GC battle for sure.”
Sportsbeat 2017