Chris Froome moves into Vuelta contention as Hesjedal wins stage

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/sep/06/chris-froome-vuelta-a-espana-ryder-hesjedal

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Ryder Hesjedal claimed the 14th stage of the Vuelta a España thanks to a late surge in the final brutal climb as Chris Froome’s challenge gathered momentum. Alejandro Valverde was the first to attack in the group of favourites in the intimidating ascent to La Camperona but he could not sustain the pace and lost time to the overall leader, his fellow Spaniard Alberto Contador, as well as to Froome.

The Team Sky rider was the best of the top contenders as he beat Contador by seven seconds and Valverde by 29, according to provisional results. Contador retained the red jersey and now leads Valverde by 42 seconds and Froome, who is now third overall after the Colombian Rigoberto Urán cracked in the finale, by 1min 13sec.

Eleven breakaway riders reached the base of the final ascent, 8.3kilometres at an average gradient of 7.5% and in parts almost 20%, with a five-minute advantage over the peloton.

The Swiss Oliver Zaugg attacked in the steepest part and looked certain to win, only for Hesjedal, the 2012 Giro winner, to overcome him with 200m left and win after 200.8km from Santander.

In the group of favourites, Valverde sped away early and he was followed by Contador and Spain’s Joaquim Rodríguez. Froome appeared to struggle but the 2013 Tour de France champion accelerated in the final kilometre to gain time over his rivals and send a warning.

Just as Contador seemed to be cruising towards a third Vuelta title, Froome’s move showed that he will be a tough nut to crack and will be one of the favourites for Sunday’s mountaintop finish in Lagos de Covadonga.