Nicolas Roche’s La Vuelta challenge faltered badly this afternoon as the Irish rider dropped from third to 11th overall after finishing 28th in cold, rainy conditions on the 187.5-kilometres route from Lorca to Observatorio Astronomico de Calar Alto.
Roche (BMC Racing) began the day just 36 seconds behind Chris Froome (Team Sky), but ended up four minutes and 45 seconds behind the three-time Tour de France winner as his podium hopes evaporated in Andalusia.
Colombia's Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) claimed the stage victory, but Froome was the big winner on stage 11, forging a 1:19 buffer over nearest rival Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), who won La Vuelta in 2010.
Froome's second-placed finish, 14 seconds behind Lopez, was accompanied by six bonus seconds.
The Briton is seeking to become only the third person to win the Tour-Vuelta double in the same year and the first since 1978. The Tour of Spain was moved from April to its present post-Tour position in 1995 and concludes in Madrid on 10 September.
Terrible day in the saddle. I will keep fighting. Still 10 days left.. summer please come back!!!!
— nicholas roche (@nicholasroche) August 30, 2017
Here's a look at how things now stand on the #LV2017 GC after stage 11. @nicholasroche & van Garderen now sit just outside of the top 10. pic.twitter.com/OYAGh2FrQU
— BMC Racing Team (@BMCProTeam) August 30, 2017
