Chris Froome will start two minutes behind Nairo Quintana in the Vuelta a España's crucial stage 19 time trial this afternoon, but will hope to make up over three minutes on the race leader.
Froome sits 3-37 down on Quintana after 18 gruelling stages and with the 37km time trial and a summit finish on stage 20 the only opportunities to gain time, the Team Sky man will hope to put the Colombian to the sword in Calpe.
The course, starting in Javea, doesn't offer much in the way of hills, meaning it should be advantage Froome when it comes to speed against the clock, but Quintana is no slouch in the time trials these days and is confident of taking a healthy lead into Saturday's penultimate stage.
The stage kicks off at 12.46 BST, with Orica-BikeExchange's Svein Tuft looking to set a time that will keep him in the leader's seat for most of the afternoon.
Movistar's Jonathan Castroviejo will be one of the main favourites for the stage, along with the likes of Froome and Andrew Talansky (Cannondale-Drapac).
Top 10 riders' start times
15.38 - Davide de la Cruz (Etixx-Quick Step)
15.40 - Michele Scarponi (Astana)
15.42 - Davide Formolo (Cannondale-Drapac)
15.44 - Samuel Sanchez (BMC)
15.46 - Andrew Talansky (Cannondale-Drapac)
15.48 - Simon Yates (Orica-BikeExchange)
15.50 - Alberto Contador (Tinkoff)
15.52 - Esteban Chaves (Orica-BikeExchange)
15.54 - Chris Froome (Team Sky)
15.56 - Nairo Quintana (Movistar)
Notable others
12.46 - Svein Tuft (Orica-BikeExchange)
13.21 - Hugh Carthy (Caja Rural)
13.29 - Scott Thwaites (Bora-Argon 18)
14.46 - Peter Kennaugh (Team Sky)
14.49 - Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar)
15.02 - Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana)
15.26 - Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
-
-
Green boxers, polka dot mugs and Maxoo: Inside Copenhagen's Tour de France shop
Denmark has gone wild for the Tour de France, so Cycling Weekly decided to join in the fun at the ASO-approved store
-
I raced the Copenhagen Tour de France time trial course on a shopping bike - and everything conspired against me
I'm willing to bet Pogačar and Roglič don't encounter such problems
-
'I'm trying to get back to my old self again' — Chris Froome achieves his best result since 2019 horror crash
Chris Froome finished 11th at the Mercan Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes on Tuesday, his best result for almost three years
-
Chris Froome: Being competitive at Tour de France would be a 'dream scenario'
The Israel-Premier Tech rider on being back at his normal level, appreciating his past, and aiming to have form late into the season
-
Chris Froome set for 2022 race debut in Italy
The four-time Tour de France winner will return to racing at the Coppi e Bartali next week
-
Chris Froome claims 'racing has become more dangerous' due to 'abundance of data'
The Israel-Premier Tech rider suggests cycling performance has drastically improved since he became a professional, but not necessarily for the best
-
Nairo Quintana joins calls for ketones to be banned in cycling
Colombian says 'the more they ban them, the better for us'
-
Ranked: Nairo Quintana's best victories
As the Colombian surpasses 50 career victories, we take a look at some of his very best
-
Nairo Quintana soars to victory at Tour du Var with solo attack
The Colombian wins his second stage race of the season
-
Seven things we learned from racing in Oman, Provence, and Spain
Smaller teams are on fire; Lutsenko is good on gravel; never give up on your dream of winning
