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(Reuters) - Primoz
Roglic tightened his grip on the overall lead of the Vuelta a
Espana as he claimed some precious seconds when finishing
runner-up on stage 16 on Friday.
The Slovenian had no answer to Denmark's Magnus Cort Nielsen who
claimed victory with a well-timed burst at the end of the 162km
ride from Salamanca to Cuidad Rodrigo.
But the Jumbo Visma rider claimed six seconds to stretch his
advantage to 45 seconds over Ineos Grenadiers' Richard Carapaz.
Britain's Hugh Carthy (EF Pro Cycling) is third overall at 53
seconds.
Roglic now needs to preserve his lead in Saturday's 178km
mountain stage to be almost sure of claiming victory in Madrid.
There was heartbreak for France's Remi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick
Step) who looked like he might solo his way to victory after
spending all day in the breakaway.
But he was caught inside the final 3km as the peloton wound up
the pace to set up a battle that Nielsen edged.
Veteran Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) led out the sprint but
all-rounder Cort Nielsen powered home to continue what has been
a strong Vuelta for the American EF Pro Cycling team.
Roglic let out a roar of frustration as he crossed the line but
strengthened his grip on a race he has led since replacing
Carapaz by winning stage 10.
The Tour de France runner-up will be taking nothing for granted,
however, with five categorised climbs to endure on the road to
Alto de La Covatilla on Saturday, including a 10km slog at an
average of 7% to the summit finish.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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