Niemiec wins at Lagos de Covadonga, Valverde cuts the gap

Lampre-Merida's Niemiec was the only rider from a five-man break who defied the race favourites on a pulsating final climb that saw the red jersey Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) battle incessantly with compatriots Valverde (Movistar) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha).

Despite frequent out-of-the-saddle attacks Contador was unable to drop his main rivals on the misty 12.2km ascent in the Picos de Europa mountain range in Asturias. A dig in the final three-hundred-metre ramp to the finish saw Valverde take second place on the stage with third-place Rodriguez right in his wheel - just five seconds behind winner Niemiec.

Contador came home five seconds later for fourth place, while Italy's Fabio Aru (Astana) and Britain's Chris Froome (Team Sky) battled over the line seven seconds later for fifth and sixth.

With the addition of six bonus seconds for his second place, Valverde moved within 31 seconds of Contador's red jersey in the overall standings. Rodriguez and Froome are tied in third place at 1:20.

It was a memorable maiden Grand Tour victory for Niemiec, the 34-year-old Polish climber elevated to Lampre-Merida's co-leader alongside stage 9 victor Winner Anacona following the withdrawal of defending champion Chris Horner on the eve of the race.

Sixth in last year's Giro d'Italia, Niemiec has struggled for form and consistency in a troubled 2014 season and is yet to sign a contract for the coming season. Victory on one of the Vuelta's most mythical climbs should help Niemiec's cause - although it's fair to say the veteran would have struggled to stay out in front had Contador's main rivals not insisted on forcing the race leader into doing all the work in the closing kilometres of the race.

FIVE-MAN BREAK: On a wet and misty day in Asturias, the day's main break formed around 30km into the 152km stage from Oviedo. John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano), Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEdge), Kristoff Vandewalle (Trek Factory Racing) and Javier Aramendia (Caja Rural) joined Niemiec on the front of the race, the quintet combining to build up a maximum lead of 11 minutes over the peloton.

Clearly motivated by the two intermediate sprints, Germany's Degenkolb picked up a maximum eight points to extend his lead in the green jersey points competition to 44 points over Valverde ahead of the final week of racing.

Degenkolb was the first of the break to crack, dropped on the descent of the Cat.2 Puerto del Torno climb 30km from the finish after Valverde's Movistar team had upped the tempo so high that the lead was slashed to six minutes.

A crash for Spain's Jonathan Castroviejo - who fell off the road and into a wooded area on a tight bend - saw Movistar and the main peloton ease up on the slippery, narrow roads. As the rain stopped and the sun started to break through the clouds, Ireland's Dan Martin was being paced back into the main pack by Garmin-Sharp team-mate Andrew Talansky following an earlier uphill crash on the Torno climb.

Katusha came to the front of the peloton when it became clear that both Contador and Froome were isolated and without any team-mates - until the dangerous conditions saw the pace slow and gave Team Sky and Tinkoff-Saxo a chance to regroup.

The four leaders held an advantage of just under four minutes as they started the final climb to Lagos de Covadonga, with an average gradient of 7.2% and a maximum gradient of 17.5%.

Australia's Meyer attacked first but he was soon reeled in my Niemiec with 10km remaining. With Belgian Vandewalle in pursuit and Spain's Aramendia dropping back, the leading duo rode together until Niemiec attacked with 5km remaining as the gap was reduced to just 1:05.

Two short descents near the summit played into Niemiec's hands. With all the drama of the GC battle playing out behind him, the Pole entered the final kilometre with 22 seconds on his pursuers but kept his calm to take the biggest win of his career.

BRILLIANT BARGUIL, YO-YOING FROOME: The final climb was lit up with a succession of attacks from French 22-year-old Warren Barguil. A double stage winner from last year's race, the Giant-Shimano climber showed his pedigree by a wonderful display of attacking prowess en route to finishing eighth place and rising to tenth on GC.

If Barguil was on the attack, then so were the Katusha team of Rodriguez. Every time Barguil edged ahead on the decisive ascent, Katusha had it covered - first through Giampaolo Caruso, then Dani Moreno, and then both.

Meanwhile, Team Sky's Froome was struggling to keep up with the constant accelerations and the 2013 Tour de France champion was forced to ride at his own pace and keep a steady rhythm. It was a tactic that paid off in Saturday's stage to La Camperona, and it looked to promise similar dividends one day later.

Distanced and seemingly out of the equation with 6km remaining, Froome kept spinning the pedals alongside team-mate Mikel Nieve and had managed to rejoin the likes of Contador, Valverde, Rodriguez and Aru with 4km remaining.

After Barguil put in another attack on a steep 15% segment, Froome dropped back in a group alongside Martin and Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-Quick Step). Barguil was reeled in by the formidable Spanish trident and escapee Vandewalle was caught and passed with 3km to go.

After the first descent towards the finish, Rodriguez put in a rare attack as Meyer was swallowed and spat out. Contador and Valverde were equal to the challenge, leading to a lull where Contador was forced to set the pace and drag his countrymen up the climb.

It was this moment that probably saved Niemiec, currently riding just 25 seconds further up the road. It also gave both Froome and Aru the chance to eat into the gap and cut their losses. Martin, Barguil and Uran all finished within a minute of Niemiec, with Caruso in tenth at 1:02.

With the top four riders separated by just 1:20 there will be fireworks for Monday's third and final stage in the mountains of Asturias. Aru is fifth at 2:22, Uran sixth at 2:57 and Martin up to seventh at 5:02. Samuel Sanchez (BMC), Robert Gesink (Belkin) and Barguil complete the top ten.

RIDE OF THE DAY: Przemyslaw Niemiec gave Lampre their second win of the race and did his search for a new contract for 2015 no harm with a maiden Vuelta win.

DAY TO FORGET: Although they finished five seconds clear of the race leader, Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim Rodriguez may regret not pushing on when Chris Froome was very much on the ropes. The Briton recovered and is still very much in the mix, level on time with Rodriguez and just 1:20 from the race summit.

COMING UP: If the past two days have been tricky then this is a slap in the face for the riders: stage 16 is clearly the queen stage of the Vuelta, with five major climbs including the daunting final ascent of La Farrapona. Expect fireworks ahead of Tuesday's second rest day.