It came on an eventful 204.4 kilometres hilly ride from Villarreal in which American hope Tejay van Garderen dropped from second overall after crashing on the final descent.

Lotto Soudal rider Marczynski was one of three breakaway riders to contest a sprint finish after holding off the chasing peloton alongside fellow countryman Pawel Poljanski and Spaniard Enric Mas.

He crossed first in 4 hours 47min 2sec.

Poljanski, riding for Bora-Hansgrohe, crossed second in the same time for a Polish 1-2.

Quick-Step Floors' Mas took third. 

A group of overall contenders including Team Sky's Froome finished 32 seconds back.

Froome, bidding to become the third man to win the Vuelta and the Tour de France in the same year, finished eighth on the day and now leads Colombia's Orica-Scott rider Esteban Chaves by 11 seconds.

Ireland and BMC's Nicholas Roche sits third, 13 seconds off the pace, with team-mate van Garderen a further 14 seconds back in fourth.

The peloton will tackle a 207km flat stage tomorrow from Llíria to Cuenca.