Team Sky took control in today's stage of the Vuelta a Espana to make sure that Chris Froome stayed safe. The Brit is now ready to give it his all in tomorrow's stage which he regards as his final opportunity to take back major time on Alberto Contador.

 

Chris Froome safely retained second place overall at the Vuelta a Espana while Dario Cataldo was able to finish stage 19 after a frightening crash.

 

Team Sky again rode well as a unit, hitting the front at the perfect time for the tight and steep entry to the Alto Monte Faro and putting Froome into a perfect position.

 

Pete Kennaugh and Kanstantsin Siutsou paced the peloton up the second-category ascent, but it was with 14km go to on the rapid, technical descent where Cataldo came down.

 

The Italian’s back wheel slid out on a sweeping right-hand corner, sending him off the bike. Yet in a great show of heart, Cataldo was able to get back up and finish the stage in Cangas.

 

The team’s medical staff will now assess Cataldo and  will give a further update when they have it.

 

The stage saw a surprise winner as Adam Hansen (Lotto Belisol) saw his opportunistic attack rewarded with a five-second solo victory.

The Australian jumped clear with 4.8km to go and made his slender advantage stick at the line, with John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) and Filippo Pozzato (Lampre-Merida) leading in the chase.

 

Froome finished in the group to remain 1:19 back on race leader Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo), with the final summit finish of the race to come on Saturday.

 

“It’s been a hard day again," Froome said. "My team rode at the front just to stay safe. I feel tired but I guess that’s normal for stage 19 of a Grand Tour. Tomorrow is the last stage to really put everything down. We’ll see what happens.”

 

After the stage Sports Director Dario Cioni confirmed that Cataldo had gone to the hospital to be checked over.

 

On the day's racing he said: "It was meant to be an easier day today. Obviously with a tough climb like that at the finish we wanted to make sure we were able to control it. We didn’t want anyone to attack so we opted to set a good tempo, rather than sit back and have to chase later.

 

"We’re heading into the final two stages now. The time trial on Sunday is so short that it will only be possible to move position if the gaps are really small. That means tomorrow is the last day to really get everything out. It should be a really exciting stage."