Dumoulin prevails as Froome fights back on another thrilling day at Vuelta a España

Tom Dumoulin fought off Chris Froome to win stage nine of the Vuelta a Espana ©Getty Images

Tom Dumoulin claimed stage victory and took the overall lead on another extraordinary stage of the Vuelta a España in which Britain's Tour de France champion Chris Froome fought back and was denied victory in the final 50 metres.

The day which began with the sad news that Belgium's Kris Boeckmans is in an induced coma after suffering facial fractures following a mass pile-up yesterday, while Slovakia's Peter Sagen has withdrawn from the race following injuries sustained in his collision with a motorbike.

Once the race began, however, concerns over the hazardous nature of the contest were replaced by excitement at its sheer drama and unpredictability.

After losing time on his main overall title contenders earlier in the week, many had written off the chances of Froome, bidding to win his maiden Vuelta crown barely a month after completing a second Tour de France victory.

Yet, after hanging on alongside his rivals in the bottom part of the decisive climb on a 168 kilometres stage from Torrevieja to Cumbre del Sol, the Briton launched an attack of his own.

His steady tempo riding appeared too much for the rest of the field, holding off several huge bursts from Dutchman Dumoulin.

Tom Dumoulin celebrates after crossing the line for a superb stage victory ©Getty Images

The 24-year-old rising star somehow fought back, swinging from the slipstream of Spaniard Joaqum Rodriguez to surge past Froome with the finish-line in sight.

He looked once over his shoulder before pumping his feet to complete a superb victory, with Froome two seconds behind in second and Rodriguez third.

With overnight race leader Esteban Chaves of Colombia struggling and finishing almost a minute down, and Dumoulin also picking up a 10 second winner's bonus, he now leads overall by 57 seconds from Rodriguez, with Chaves a further two seconds back in third.

“I’m gutted - I thought I had it for a second,” said Froome, who rose to eighth overall, one second behind another big favourite, Colombia's second-placed finisher at the Tour de France, Nairo Quintana.

“Dumoulin has shown incredible form in this race - hats off to him, he’s a young rider who has been amazing.

“I gave it everything today.

“I did try to ride conservatively towards the bottom of the climb to keep something back for the finish but I just didn’t have enough.”

Tomorrow's stage is billed as a 146.6km flat one from Valencia to Castellón de la Plana.