Froome, the Kenyan-born 2013 Tour de France winner who was forced to pull out of his title defence earlier this year following a succession of crashes, had looked far from his best over the previous 13 stages in falling one minute and 20 seconds behind Spanish leader Alberto Contador.
 
But after edging clear of the his bitter rival in the closing stages, Froome has now reduced his arrears to 73 seconds and moved up to third place after his former Team Sky team mate Rigoberto Uran, now riding for Omega Pharma Quick-step, slipped to fifth overall having lost touch on the final climb.

But more importantly, Froome proved that he still has it in himself to break clear of his rivals and he will now be confident of making up more time over the final week.

Alejandro Valverde of Spain still lies in second place overall, although he slipped to 42 seconds behind his compatriot Contador after also struggling in the closing kilometres of the testing 200.8km stage.

Chris Froome's confidence will now be growing that he can finish a frustrating season on a high ©AFP/Getty Images



Two-and-a-half minutes ahead of Froome, Hesjedal, the 2012 Giro d'Italia champion who has laughed off claims he was riding a "motorised-bike" earlier in the week, powered home to secure the stage win.

Switzerland's Oliver Zaugg looked set for victory when he broke clear 1.5km from the end, only for Hesjedal's blistering late acceleration to prove decisive as the Canadian powered past with 200 metres to go.

Spain's Imanol Erviti finished third.

"It was all-in today, it was incredible on that last climb," Hesjedal said afterwards.

"This is why we do this.

"The energy you get from the fans is just incredible."

Meanwhile, with few stages suitable for the sprinters to come, the three-time Tour de France points winner Peter Sagan of Slovakia pulled out before the beginning of today's stage and has officially withdrawn from the race.

For the rest of the field, another brutally tough mountain stage awaits tomorrow, as the peloton tackles a 152.2km route from Oviedo to Lagos de Covadonga

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
September 2014: Navarro takes stage 13 win on Vuelta a España while Contador retains red jersey
September 2014: Contador retains lead as Degenkolb claims third win on Vuelta a España
September 2014: Quintana out after second crash as Contador keeps grip on Vuelta a España
September 2014: Quintana loses Vuelta a España lead to Contador after heavy fall
August 2014: Quintana takes lead while compatriot Anacona seals stage nine win at Vuelta a España