Cycling: Chris Froome extends Vuelta lead

Team Sky's Chris Froome managed to hold on to the leader's jersey at the end of the tough stage 15 of the Tour of Spain on Sunday and even put another few seconds between him and second-placed Vincenzo Nibali. Astana rider Miguel Angel Lopez rode away to get an impressive stage win at the summit of the Alto Hoya de la Mora and the Colombian also bounced up into sixth place overall. Lopez attacked from the main bunch and caught up with breakaway rider Adam Yates, then overtook him and rode clear. Vincenzo Nibali attacked Chris Froome on the final climb but the Briton along with his team mates kept a steady tempo and easily reeled the Italian back in. Then, on the final hundreds of meters of the last climb, Froome sprinted clear of Nibali and gained another six seconds on him. Now Froome has an advantage of 1 minute and 1 second over second-placed Nibali and 2 minutes and 8 seconds on third-placed Ilnur Zakarin, who finished second behind Lopez in stage 15. Wilco Kelderman grabbed the last place on the stage podium on Sunday. Adam Yates, who led the race until there were just 4 kilometers left, almost stopped when Lopez caught up with him and forced an impressive pace. "I slowed down when he came past me because I couldn't keep the pace. Maybe it was a bit early when I attacked but we gave it a shot," said Yates. "I tried my best so I can't be disappointed with that. I'm tired now but we will rest up and go again in a few days. It didn't work out today but I am sure it will in the future." The riders enjoy a rest day on Monday before Tuesday's important test, a 40.2km time trial from Circuito de Navarra to Logrono. Chris Froome is now 1/14 at Bet365 to win the Vuelta a Espana, while Vincenzo Nibali is 11/1 to win it.