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United States | Midwest | Ohio >> Vuelta a España: Jean-Pierre Drucker takes stage 16 but Nairo Quintana leads

Vuelta a España: Jean-Pierre Drucker takes stage 16 but Nairo Quintana leads

Luxembourg rider beats Daniele Bennati and Gianni Meersman in sprint.  Quintana still 3 mins 37 secs ahead of Chris Froome

Jean-Pierre Drucker of Luxembourg sprinted his way to victory in stage 16 of the Vuelta a España with a perfectly timed finish, overtaking Daniele Bennati and Gianni Meersman in the final stretch of the 156.4km flat stage from Alcañiz to Peñiscola.

There was no change at the top in the general classification, with Nairo Quintana maintaining his 3min 37sec lead over the Tour de France champion Chris Froome by finishing with the Briton.

Froome endured a dismal stage on Sunday, finishing 2:40 behind winner Gianluca Brambilla and 2:37 down on Quintana, allowing the Colombian to tighten his grip on the red jersey.

The German pair Rüdiger Selig and Nikias Arndt finished second and third respectively, recording the same time as Drucker, who claimed his first ever win in a Grand Tour.

“I suffered a lot the last days but I always kept believing in the sprint stages,” said Drucker. “I did a good Tour of Burgos and I was confident in my sprint. It’s nice. It’s cool to have a victory in a Grand Tour.“

Johan Esteban Chaves stays third and 20 seconds behind Froome, with five stages remaining of the Tour, which finishes on Sunday 11 September. Tuesday is the second and final rest day of the race.

Froome’s few remaining opportunities to gain some ground on Quintana lie in the two remaining mountain stages on Wednesday and Saturday, while his best chance of eating into the Colombian’s lead could be in Thursday’s individual time trial.

Results 16th stage Vuelta Top 10

1. Jean-Pierre Drucker (lux)
2. Rüdiger Selig (ger) s.t.
3. Nikias Arndt (ger) s.t.
4. Gianni Meersman (bel) s.t.
5. Lorrenzo Manzin (fra) s.t.
6. Jonas Van Genechten (bel) s.t.
7. Kristian Sbaragli (ita) s.t.
8. Kristian Reijnen (usa) s.t.
9. Tosh Van der Sande (bel)
10. Jhonathan Restrepo (col) s.t.

GC after 16th stage

1. Nairo Quintana (col)
2. Chris Froome (gbr) + 3.37
3. Esteban Chaves (col) + 3.57
4. Alberto Contador (spa) + 4.02
5. Simon Yates (gbr) + 5.07
6. Samuel Sánchez (spa) + 6.12
7. Andrew Talansky (usa) + 6.43
8. Davide Formolo (ita) + 7.17
9. David de la Cruz (spa) + 7.23
10. Michele Scarponi (ita) + 7.39
11. Daniel Moreno (spa) + 8.05
12. George Bennett (nzl) + 9.45
13. Sergio Pardilla (spa) + 10.09
14. Jean Christophe Peraud (fra) + 11.06
15. Ben Hermans (bel) + 11.44
16. Alejandro Valverde (spa) + 12.48

VIDEO: Vuelta Stage 16 Highlights

VIDEO: Vuelta Stage 16 Last Kilometres