Chris Froome closes in on Vuelta win

After storming the flat 40.2km Stage 16 time trial from the Navarra motor-racing circuit to Logroño in a sensational 47 minutes on Tuesday, British cyclist Chris Froome’s hold on the Vuelta a España looks unshakeable, and barring disaster, the Sky team rider looks set to win the grueling race with just five stages to go.

After his performance in the capital of the Rioja region in northern Spain, Froome now leads his principal rival, Vincenzo Nibali, by 1’58” after the Italian rider took third place on the day, 57 seconds behind the red jersey.

Froome is within touching distance of a Tour-Vuelta double not achieved for decades

Chris Froome is now exactly where he wants to be, and has got there the way he wanted. Ahead of Tuesday's time trial,  he was already one minute ahead of his main rival, Nibali, thanks to winning the Cumbre del Sol stage, radiating superiority — his own and that of his team — and having turned this grueling race into his own personal challenge.

Russia’s Ilnur Zakarin was the fourth quickest man on the day and now sits in fourth place, a further 27 seconds back, while Alberto Contador – riding his final time trial as a professional – rose four places to fifth after an inspired effort.

Froome looked the favorite from the start: he had few rivals during his previous time trials during the rainy opening stage of the Tour de France in Düsseldorf, and again in Marseilles. In the first, lasting 14 kilometers, Spain’s Alberto Contador lost 42 seconds; in the second, 24 kilometers, Contador held out and conceded 15 seconds. Nobody else came close.

In the old days, it used to be said that the climbers would try to make up on the hill stages what they lost in the time trials. But today’s cyclists have to be able to perform equally well in all stages: a sprinter is just as likely to win a hill climb as a Colombian is a sprint.

Froome had rested after the Tour, keeping his training to a minimum and fully focusing on winning the Vuelta

Froome was ready for Tuesday event: he had rested after the Tour, keeping his training to a minimum and fully focused on winning the Vuelta, the thorn in his side. That said, this is not the first time that Froome looked the favorite to take on Spain’s toughest cycling challenge. When he dropped out in 2015 after suffering a fall, he had prepared as well as anybody, but his hopes were dashed.

None of Froome’s rivals seriously believe they have a chance of winning the race. Some will continue the fight in the hope of taking some glory home (no small achievement). But Nibali, Chaves, Contador, Zakarin? On Tuesday, Contador said he would battle on: “After losing in Andorra, I believed there was no point in going on. Now I am going to fight for a place on the podium even though there are tough rivals such as Colombia’s Miguel Ángel López and others. But depending on the result of the time trial, I will decide if I can fight for a place on the podium or simply to win a stage.”

Froome, a four-time Tour de France champion, now tops the combined classification and is within touching distance of the king of the mountains summit, with a Tour-Vuelta double that has not been acheived for decades.

English version by Nick Lyne.