Vuelta a Espana: Chris Froome wins time trial to stay in Vuelta contention

The Tour de France champion and 2016 Olympic time trial bronze medallist was the only rider to clock under 47 minutes, finishing with a time of 46 minutes and 33 seconds

Chris Froome celebrates his time trial victory on the podium (Getty)

Britain's Chris Froome produced a superb display to win the stage 19 time trial of the Vuelta a Espana and cut the overall lead of Nairo Quintana down to one minute and 21 seconds heading into the penultimate stage.

Team Sky rider Froome had gone into the 37-kilometre course from Javea to Calpe trailing Colombian Quintana by three minutes and 37 seconds.

However, the Tour de France champion and 2016 Olympic time trial bronze medallist was the only rider to clock under 47 minutes, finishing with a time of 46 minutes and 33 seconds to beat Jonathan Castroviejo's mark, the Movistar rider coming in 44 seconds adrift.

Swede Tobias Ludvigsson was third, the Team Giant Alpecin rider posting a time of 47mins and 57secs.

Quintana, meanwhile, could only manage 48:49 to finish two minutes and 16 seconds behind Froome, who is aiming to become the first winner of the Tour de France and Vuelta in the same season for 38 years.

Saturday's stage will be over 193.2kms, starting from Benidorm to include mountain passes of Rates, Ebo, Tollos and Tudons before finishing on the special category climb of Alto de Aitana, with the processional finale set for Sunday into Madrid.

Froome dominated the split times, taking the 12.5km mark at 17mins 32secs, and then clocked 31mins 08secs at the second intermediate point after 24.3kms.

Quintana the last man to start as race leader in the red jersey, but the Movistar rider could not eat into the Briton's fast pace.

Chris Froome kept his Vuelta hopes alive on Friday afternoon in the time trial (Getty)

It was Froome's second stage win of the Vuelta, but the Tour de France champion accepts he still faces a tough ask to overhaul Quintana.

"Time trials are painful, but I get a lot of satisfaction when I'm told I finished first," Froome said to Spanish broadcaster TVE.

"Nairo has a good team around him. It's going to be tough to beat him.

"He has more than one minute, but we are going to keep on fighting, so we will see what happens tomorrow."

Alberto Contador, who has won the Vuelta three times, moved up into third place in the overall standings after finishing eighth, now above Esteban Chaves of Orica-Bike Exchange, who lost over three minutes.

Andrew Talansky (Cannondale-Drapac) moved ahead of British rider Simon Yates into the top five.

PA.