Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) continued to slug it out at the Vuelta a Espana, with the two attacking each other and distancing their rivals on the short but steep finish to Pena Cabarga overlooking the northern Cantabria coastline.

Froome managed to kick away and win the stage, just as he did in his break through season back in 2011 but Quintana kept the leader's red jersey and indicated that he is ready to take on Froome whenever the road heads into the mountains.

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) finished third, just six seconds back, with Leopold Konig (Team Sky) and Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) in the same time. Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge), who tried to revive his overall chances with a solo attack in the final two kilometres, finished eighth at 19 seconds. Thanks to the time bonuses awarded at the finish, Froome moved up to just 54 seconds back on Quintana, with Valverde third overall at 1:05. Chaves is fourth at 2:34 and Contador is fifth at 3:06.

Froome punched the air as he crossed the finish line, happy to win again on the terrible Pena Cabarga climb and happy to be in contention to become only the third rider to win the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana in the same season after Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault.

"I've got some special memories from 2011 here. To add to that here is an incredible feeling," Froome said.

"Quintana is really strong at the moment. He has the leader's jersey and I'm just trying to do as much as I can day by day to get closer to him. I want as much time as I can get, he wants as much time as he can get and that makes the race exciting."

Watch Vuelta a Espana stage 11 highlights video

How it happened

Several riders, including Team Sky opted to warm-up on the rollers before the stage, perhaps worried about the effects of the rest day, an expected fast start and the rolling roads to the Pena Cabarga. Froome was wearing the white jersey of the combined classification due to Nairo Quintana being in the red leader’s jersey.

The stage rolled out of the Museo Jurasico after several riders posed for photographs with the giant dinosaurs. There were two non-starters after Tuesday's rest day, with Silvio Herklotz (Bora-Argon18) and Simon Clarke (Cannondale-Drapac) withdrawn from the Vuelta. Clarke rode up Lagos de Covadonga one-handed after crashing on Monday. He was resolved to continue in the Vuelta until he was diagnosed with a fractured scapula and instead headed to Barcelona for possible surgery. Soon after the start his teammate Patrick Bevin also dropped out. Like Clarke, the New Zealander was a faller on Monday. Later in the stage Laurent Pichon (FDJ), who had been ill in recent days abandoned, as did Jose Goncalves (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA).

The pace was high from the start but breakaways were unable to go clear due to the near 50km/h average speed in the opening hour. A big move final got away and was given some freedom after 50km. The riders at the head of the race were all hoping to find the break and get a ride to the foot of the final climb in the hope of targeting the stage victory.

In the move were: Ben Hermans (BMC), Martijn Keizer (Lotto NL-Jumbo), Pello Bilbao, Angel Madrazo (Caja Rural – RGA Seguros), Davide Malacarne (Astana), Koen De Kort and Johannes Fröhlinger (Giant-Alpecin), Kiel Reijnen (Trek - Segafredo), Jan Bakelants, Axel Domont (AG2R - La Mondiale), Tiago Machado, Jhonatan Restrepo (Katusha), Sander Armée (Lotto Soudal), Pieter Serry, Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-Quick Step), Pierre Rolland (Cannonade - Drapac), Jacques Janse van Rensburg, Merhawi Kudus (Dimension Data), Jonas Van Genechten (IAM Cycling), Kristin Durasek, Ilya Koshevoy (Lampre - Merida), Cesare Benedetti and Christoph Pfingsten (Bora-Argon18).

Movistar took up the chase as race leaders but the 23 worked smoothly and opened a gap of 5:00. The race was at a tipping point with 80km to go but Tinkoff surprisingly took over from Movistar, indicating they and Contador wanted to close the race down. Michael Gogl, Manuele Boaro, Sergio Paulinho and Ivan Rovny took to the front and lead the chase all the way to the foot of the Pena Cabarga. Team Sky, Movistar and Orica-Bike Exchange sat lined out in formation in Tinkoff’s high-speed slipstream. The rest day had clearly helped many on the peloton.

Upfront Tiago Machado (Katusha) attacked alone, tired of too many passengers in the break, but he was pulled back. Jacques Janse van Rensburg (Dimension Data) also tried his hand but the rest of the break pulled him back too. However the break refused to give up as the kilometres counted down but their lead melted gradually and the peloton had them within sight as the road turned right not the 5.6km Pena Cabarga.

Ben Hermans (BMC) and Jan Bakelants (AG2R-La Mondiale) tried to stay away on the early part of the climb but the pace set by the Movistar team was incessant. Hermans dug deep to enjoy some lone glory but he was caught with three kilometres to go as Movistar stayed on the front and Ruben Fernandez again showed his mountain talents.

Chaves goes on the attack

The head of the race became a battle between Quintana and Froome as the crowds cheered from the roadside. The two attacked each other and looked at each other as they tried to land a knockout blow. It didn’t happen this time bit it was a great moment of grand tour racing. In the final hundred metres, Froome used a little extra speed and determination to accelerate and win the sprint to the finish. But it was only the start, not the end of their battle for the Vuelta a Espana.

The next two stages are on rolling roads to Bilbao and then Dantxarinea. Their fight for overall victory will next be seen on the mountain stage in the Pyrenees to Gourette Aubsique.

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