Austrian Denifl takes Vuelta stage 17, Froome wobbles in overall standings
"I had super super legs today," Denifl said. "I waited all La Vuelta for that day. I paced myself until today and I went all in. It's just amazing for the team, for Aqua Blue."
The UCI Pro cyclist trudged his way up the final climb of the 180.5-kilometer (112-mile) run from Villadiego to Los Machucos in Spain's verdant Cantabria region to cross the line at the Vaca Pasiega Monument with a time of 4:48.52.
"It's our first Grand Tour and we win a stage - I'm over the Moon! You always have to believe you'll win. When I felt my legs, I was like 'oh my goods, this is super good'. And I just kept on pushing," Denifl said.
Spain's Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) - who announced he is retiring after the race - followed Denifl 28 seconds later with a group including Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) and Italian Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain) coming in 0:01:04 after the second-place Spaniard.
Nibali managed to take a chunk out of Froome's overall lead in the standings, which dropped to 0:01:16.
In the first climb of the high mountain stage, Portillo, Italian rider Davide Villella (UCI ProTeam Cannondale) was in charge, taking advantage of the descent, while the title contenders' pack reached the summit 3:03 off the pace.
The descent was dangerous due to fog, but the racers managed to come down safely.
Heading to the climb of Alisas with 27 kilometers to go, Orica started to attack as Colombian Esteban Chaves was trying to improve his spot in the overall standings, but he and teammate Adam Yates could not break away.
Spanish Movistar rider Dani Moreno launched an attack heading into the Los Machucos climb some 7.2 kilometers from the finish line.
Denifl, however, fended off Moreno's attack and went on his own until the finish line, finishing faster than Contador.
"The climb was perfect for me. There were bits of flat to recover. Now I've won a stage at La Vuelta. It's amazing. It's the best day of my cycling life," Denifl said.
Froome's struggles did not go unnoticed by Nibali, who tried to make the most of it.
The British Team Sky rider, however, pulled himself together and reached the finish line with the help of his teammate, retaining the red jersey.
"It's still a good position to be in. I think we always knew today was going to be a tough final and it certainly was," Froome said. "Especially, the weather conditions. But the team is doing a great job, I am feeling good and we look forward to the next three days".
The 32-year-old Froome downplayed his struggles and losing ground to his rivals for the title.
"It was a typical Vuelta summit finish, it's just the nature of the race. It's the same for everyone. I don't think anyone really enjoys gradients over 25 percent, but that's how it is," Froome said. "Of course, it's never nice to lose time, but I still feel good. There's just three days left and I hope we can get the job done."
Thursday's stage 19 will take the peloton 169 kilometers from Suances to Santo Toribio de Liebana for a picturesque finale.
