Tour of Spain: Alberto Contador seizes lead with stage victory

Alberto Contador crosses the line on stage 17 (GETTY IMAGES)

Alberto Contador took the overall lead of the Vuelta a España yesterday as Joaquin Rodriguez endured a dreadful 17th stage.

Rodriguez went into the final five legs of the 21-stage race with a 28-second lead but he struggled to attack the Collado La Hoz towards the finish line at Fuente De. He was pushed into third place by Alejandro Valverde of Movistar. Team Sky's Chris Froome held on to fourth in overall classification.