Chris Froome again showed tremendous grit to limit his losses in a tough Vuelta a Espana stage. The Brit is doing every climb like a time trial and just staying in his own rhythm without worrying about his rivals.

Chris Froome dug deep to retain third place overall at the Vuelta a Espana after the stage 15 summit finish to Lagos de Covadonga.

Again content to set his own tempo on the beyond-category summit, Froome began to drift back as the infamous climb ramped up before dragging himself back to his main rivals.

Despite dropping over 20 seconds back in the face of constant accelerations, the Team Sky rider regained contact with four kilometres to go, before eventually finishing 12 seconds back on Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim Rodriguez.

With that pair capturing bonus seconds for second and third on the stage, Rodriguez moved to level on time with Froome, but was unable to prise the podium position away from the Brit due to stage placings.

Race leader Alberto Contador attacked not once but twice to finally distance Froome by seven seconds but saw his advantage in the red jersey trimmed slightly to 31 seconds over Valverde. Froome and Rodriguez now sit 1:20 back.

Przemyslaw Niemiec (Lampre-Merida) proved strongest in the day’s five-man break and just had enough left to hang on for a fine solo victory, a mere five seconds ahead of the GC fight.

Mikel Nieve continued his impressive and consistent showing, helping to pace Froome up the final climb and retaining 16th place overall.

“As I said I’m just trying to ride my own rhythm here and do the best I can each day," Froome said after the stage