Froome wins Stage 19 of the Vuelta and closes in on red jersey Quintana

British rider Chris Froome on Friday won Stage 19 of the 2016 Vuelta a España and almost halved his gap with the current overall leader in the general classifications.

The Team Sky rider clocked a time of 46 minutes and 33 seconds for the 37kilometer (23mile) individual time trial run from Xàbia to Calp.

Spaniard Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar) and Swede Tobias Ludvigsson (Team Giant) followed Froome +0:00:44 and +0:01:24, respectively.

Colombian Nairo Quintana (Movistar) managed to retain the red jersey as leader in the overall classifications _ a position he has held since Stage 10 _ but lost part of his considerable advantage over Froome.

The Colombian ranked an overall time of 72:18:52, followed by a determined Froome at +0:01:21.

Tinkoff rider, Spaniard Alberto Contador, moved up to third overall, +0:03:43 behind the man in red.

Only two stages remain until the cyclists are set to arrive in the Spanish capital Madrid.

Quintana will be careful not to put a foot wrong in the knowledge that Froome is hot on his heels.

Tomorrow’s Stage 20 features a 193.2km (119mi) run from Benidorm to Alto Aitana.