Stage 15

The road

How it was won

1. 1106 km to go

   The ambush

   Alberto Contador attacks in the opening kilometres of a 118km stage and Nairo Quintana jumps wholeheartedly aboard. A fourteen-rider move goes with two Movistar and two Tinkoff riders in it — and Chris Froome, chasing through the early splits, is caught out with six teammates stranded at the back of the race.

2. 272 km to go

   Two and a half minutes, and growing

   Fraile takes maximum points at the summit while the leaders collaborate perfectly. Behind, the chase keeps stalling, and a flustered Froome fills the race radio with panicked messages.

3. 337 km to go

   The chase never organises

   Fraile takes the second-category Cotefablo too. Zeits and Sánchez drag the chasers to within two minutes at the foot of the Formigal, and then it simply comes apart as riders dig and ease and dig again.

4. 414 km to go

   Valverde twists the knife

   With Movistar in no hurry at the front of the chase, Froome realises he has to take control himself — and the moment he pulls off looking for help, Alejandro Valverde attacks and forces him out of the saddle to sprint again. The rhythm is gone.

5. 56 km to go

   Quintana goes clear on the Formigal

   Up front the red jersey takes command and jumps away with Contador and Brambilla toward the Vuelta's first-ever summit finish. Behind, Chaves repeats his Aubisque trick and steals clear of a disintegrating chase.

6. 6At the line

   The day Froome lost the Vuelta

   Gianluca Brambilla takes the stage; Nairo Quintana takes the race. Froome crosses disconsolate having endured one of the worst days of his Grand Tour career, Chaves is within twenty seconds of him, and the ambush laid at kilometre zero has changed everything.

The result