Race leader Chris Froome (Team Sky) has refused to rule Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) out of the battle for overall victory at the Vuelta a España after the Spaniard subjected the Briton and the rest of the GC contenders to a series of attacks in the sierras of Valencia.
Froome finished eighth on the stage, having personally chased down Contador's moves and then sticking with the Spaniard and Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing Team) over the summit of the stage's last climb.
Van Garderen crashed twice and punctured, losing a little time at the finish, but Froome stuck with Contador. The duo was then joined by a larger group of chasers, including Froome's Sky teammate Wout Poels and most of the GC contenders.
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With van Garderen losing a little time, Froome increased his overall advantage to second place, from 10 seconds on the American to 11 seconds on Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott).
However, almost all of the questions later focused on Contador's series of attacks and his potential to inflict greater damage later on in the race. Asked if he considered whether Contador could win overall, despite being three minutes back, Froome did not rule it out, saying instead, "We're still two weeks away from Madrid, so anything can still happen."
He had, he said, anticipated some kind of GC action on such a tough stage, featuring over 2,000 metres of vertical climbing and with a brutally difficult second-category climb in the final hour of racing.
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