Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) won stage 5 of the Vuelta a España after dropping the last of his breakaway companions on the short, steep haul to the finish at Alcossebre, while Chris Froome (Sky) buttressed his lead atop the overall standings with an acceleration in the final kilometre.
Froome crossed the line in the company of Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo), Michael Woods (Cannondale-Drapac) and Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott), 4:31 down on Lutsenko, but ahead of some of his key rivals for final overall victory.
Sky's Gianni Moscon – ostensibly a man for the cobbled Classics – whittled down the red jersey group by setting a stinging pace on the final climb of Ermita Santa Lucia before Froome delivered a rasping chase in the closing metres.
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By the time Contador took over in the finishing straight, only four men remained in the red jersey group, while others incurred losses of varying significance: Fabio Aru (Astana) conceded 11 seconds to Froome, Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) lost 26 seconds and Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) coughed up 49 seconds.
Tejay van Garderen (BMC) rode well to limit the damage in the final kilometre, and the American moves up to second overall, 10 seconds behind Froome, with Chaves a further second back in third.
The stage winner Lutsenko was part of the 16-man break that forged clear in the opening kilometres, and the Kazakhstani rider was live to the danger when Marco Haller (Katusha-Alpecin) ghosted off the front on the descent of the Alto de la Serratella with 47 kilometres remaining.
How it unfolded
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