Froome slips into fourth as Kennaugh receives welcome boost

Froome, aiming to become the first man in 38 years to win the Vuelta and Tour de France in the same season, crossed the line two minutes and 56 seconds behind De la Cruz, but remained alongside his other general classification riders.

De la Cruz, of Etixx Quick-Step, staged a breakaway with just 600m remaining, winning the 164.5km stage by 27 seconds, leapfrogging race leader Nairo Quintana at the top of the standings to take a 22-second advantage into stage ten.

Froome is now 49 seconds behind the new race leader, although De la Cruz is not expected to challenge for the overall win, and his British teammate Pete Kennaugh has received a welcome confidence boost heading into the second half of the race.

Having worn the red jersey and helping Team Sky win the time trial, Kennaugh currently sits in 15th, 3.09 minutes behind the leader, and admits his time on the ride has been a learning curve.

"It's given me confidence that I can climb with the front guys when I'm on a good day," Kennaugh told Cycling Weekly.

"Also, it's the first time in a grand tour that I haven't lost time in the first eight days or so. In the Tour in the past, I've always been sitting up on sprint days or the mediocre days just making sure Froome is good and then losing time.

"It takes a lot more out of you to make sure you don't lose time. That's a learning experience for me."

Sportsbeat 2016