La Vuelta 2017, stage nine: Chris Froome extends lead with emphatic victory

[GF Edward]

 

Chris Froome claimed an emphatic victory in Sunday’s ninth stage of La Vuelta to Cumbre del Sol on the Costa Blanca, extending his overall lead to 36 seconds as he closes in on history.

Already leading the race by 28 seconds from Esteban Chaves [Orica-Scott], Froome attacked in the final 800m of the final steep climb, immediately dropping all of his rivals.

Chaves managed to muster a response, chasing with Michael Woods [Cannondale-Drapac]. But the duo were unable to catch Froome who was able to put in another burst as the line beckoned, winning by four seconds from Chaves.

 

The Colombian is now the only rider within a minute of Froome who continues to take chunks out of his opposition on an almost daily basis.

No Briton has ever won the Vuelta, while only two men – Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault – have ever won the Tour and the Vuelta in the same season. Froome, though, appears to have judged his season perfectly.

Chris Froome looks back as he crosses the finish line to win the ninth stage  CREDIT:  AFP PHOTO/JAIME REINA

While riders who pushed him close at last month’s Tour fade out of the overall picture - Simon Yates [Orica-Scott] has now dropped to 29th on GC, for instance - Froome looks utterly dominant. The 32 year-old holds not only the red leader’s jersey but the the white combined jersey and, after Sunday’s stage win, the green points jersey too.

 

The peloton will enjoy its first rest day on Monday before taking on another mountain route over 164.8km from Caravaca Jubilar to Elpozo Alimentacion.

 

“Coming to the first rest day we couldn’t have asked to be in a better position,” said Froome who was beaten into second by Tom Dumoulin on the same finish to Cumbre del Sol two years ago.

“[This finish two years ago] was still in my mind this morning. We watched the scenes from two years ago over and over on the bus this morning just to calculate the climb and know when the right moment to push was. Again the legs felt great today and it just feels good to be in this position.

“I saw Chaves coming in the last 300 metres and I thought it was going to happen again, like with Dumoulin two years ago. I just thought I can’t let it happen again, so I put everything I had into the last few hundred metres. I’m really happy to get the victory. After the team did such a good job on the final climb to really make a good pace. Mikel Nieve did a fantastic job, setting such a good pace for me.”

 

 

Source: Click

[eB Waldo]