Poland's Przemyslaw Niemiec won the 15th stage of the Vuelta a Espana as Alberto Contador moved further ahead of Britain's Chris Froome at the end of a gruelling final ascent today.
Spaniard Contador, who retained the overall leader's red jersey, battled against the negative tactics of Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim Rodriguez to finish a few seconds behind his two compatriots.
The Tinkoff-Saxo rider attacked time and again in the final climb a 12.2-km ascent at an average gradient of 7.2 per cent to Lagos De Covadonga.
But Rodriguez and Valverde refused to cooperate to get rid of Froome, who was struggling a few metres behind.
The Briton limited the damage and still lies third overall, 1:20 behind Contador after losing seven seconds to the Spaniard at the end of Sunday's 152.2-km ride.
Frenchman Warren Barguil was the first to shake off a small group of favourites in the final climb but it was Contador who went hard in the final six kilometres.
Froome, who was yo-yoing at the back, appeared to crack several times but always managed to fight his way back, never losing sight of Contador.
The double Tour de France champion, looking to win the Vuelta for the third time, was outsprinted by Valverde and Rodriguez in the finale as the Movistar and Katusha riders snatched six and four seconds of time bonuses respectively.
Niemiec, of the Lampre-Merida team, was the sole survivor of the day's breakaway and held off the trio of rivals to win the stage, crossing the line five seconds ahead of Valverde and Rodriguez.
Ireland’s Dan Martin, riding for Garmin Sharp, finished seventh today, 28 seconds off the pace and is now seventh overall. Team Sky’s Philip Deignan is 49th after finishing 35th today.
Monday's 16th stage classed as the queen stage, a 160.5-km trek to La Farrapona, featuring four categorised climbs.
